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Through Luzon 
On 

Highways 

and 

Byways 


By 

WILLIS BLISS WILCOX 

Paymaster U. S. N. 



FRANKLIN BOOK COMPANY 
Philadelphia 






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Copyright igoi 
WILLIS BLISS WILCOX 






















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To My Faithful Friend 


H. P. 


This Book is Dedicated. 








PREFACE. 


I T may seem strange to the average mind, that 
the island of Luzon, although having been in 
Spanish hands for so many years, is as yet 
not one-fourth discovered. 

The most attractive portions of the island, the 
foothills and mountains of the interior, are unpen¬ 
etrated. 

The legends of the wild tribes, the fierce Igor- 
rotes and Negritos, have been doubtless the bug¬ 
bear that has kept inquiring minds away from the 
most desirable and at the same time inaccessible 
places. 

It cannot be long before the venturesome 
American will go into the provinces of Abra, Le- 
pato, Bontoc and Benguet on the West, and Caga¬ 
yan and Nueva Viscaya on the East, and find there 
in the fastnesses of the cannibalistic Igorrotes, the 
verification of the tales of reputed wealth in mines 
of gold and copper. He will learn at least that 
the climate is salubrious, and amid the forests of 
pine, and towering, stately tropical trees, realise 
Tii 


viii 


PREFACE. 


that the splendor of Luzon is hidden in the ranges 
of the Cordilleras. 

In due time the country will become reconciled 
to a higher civilization, but the process of regen¬ 
eration will be slow. To alter their nature and 
make them forget their former selves, will require 
time and patience. The native will remain with a 
Malay tinge for generations, and I quite believe it 
will be as difficult to change the Tagalo as a Hin¬ 
doo. For this reason it is not probable that the 
Filipinos will at once get over what they have 
learned in their bondage for more than three cen¬ 
turies and a half. They know no other means of 
governing their people than that which has been 
taught them. They must have new laws—not the 
Spanish code—and examples of faithfulness and 
loyalty to the country, in the interest of a general 
welfare for all. The strictly native I consider su¬ 
perior to any I have seen in Spanish American 
countries, certainly more so than those of Mexico, 
the Argentine, Paraguay and Uruguay. 

Frequent intercourse will eventually lead to the 
adoption of one homogeneous language, where at 
present each district has its own peculiar dialect. 

The building of a railroad through the interior 
from Manila to Aparri by government aid, if possi¬ 
ble, will open a vast area of wonderfully productive 


PREFACE. 


ix 


land. The establishment of post offices, where 
mails are frequent, will develop an interest in af¬ 
fairs of each province and the central government 
in particular. 

Free public schools in every town and village, 
such as reach beyond the confines of mere ecclesi¬ 
astical instruction, is of first and greatest import¬ 
ance. 

A strong protecting hand will make this vast 
island a garden spot so far as productiveness is 
concerned, and unlock its storehouses of wealth. 
This will especially be true when taxation is fair 
and equitable and when the inhabitants can be sure 
that the fruits of their industry and their homes 
and families will be secure from molestation, and 
the many ingenious methods heretofore in vogue 
will not again be put in operation to filch from 
them their honest gains. 

The question of titles to landed property is a 
serious one, and doubtless will be a stumbling 
block most difficult to overcome. This is well un¬ 
derstood by those who have made inquiries with 
a view of obtaining possession of tracts of land for 
cultivation. 

Any information that is added to the general 
store of knowledge of Luzon cannot but be wel¬ 
comed. No doubt in Madrid there exists many 


PEEFACE. 


? 

volumes concerning the island, and especially those 
written by the friars who have been so long and 
so intimately associated with all classes of the in¬ 
habitants. This valuable collection may be trans¬ 
lated at no distant day. 

While confining my description to the ground 
that I have personally been over, I have tried to 
make it typical of the whole, so that the book, 
though it does not describe the whole of Luzon, 
may yet present an intelligible picture of the coun¬ 
try. 

I am under great obligations to Gen. McArthur, 
Gen. Whittier and Major Bement, of the army, for 
a part of my equipment, horses, saddles, etc., and 
especially to Admiral Dewey for permitting me to 
make the journey. W. B. W, 

Pensacola, Florida, March, 1901. 


CONTENTS. 


PAGE. 

In Old Manila. 17 

From Bayombong to Carranglan. 32 

Crossing the Caraballos. 69 

The Valley of the Rio Magat. 82 

From Bayombong to Carig. 95 

Ilagan—the Capital of Isabela. 118 

Down the Rio Grande to Aparri. 132 

From Aparri to Salomague. 142 

Vigan—Capital of Ilocos Sur. 152 

Along the West Coast. 163 

The Province of Benguet. 175 

The Military Element. 193 

In Conclusion. 200 

Appendix . 214 























ILLUSTRATIONS. 


PAGE. 

A Native Girl.Frontispiece. 

The Luneta at Manila. 23 

A Street Scene in Manila. 34 

Bridge Across Pasig River at Manila. 39 

A Street Scene in Malate. 58 

A Typical Home in the Country. 75 

A Negrito . 94 

A Spanish Mestiza. in 

A Native Caromata. 147 

Fishing on the Rio Grande. 166 

Manner of Handling Carabao on the Road. 171 

A Casco with Natives Fishing. 182 

A Native Fruit Carrier. 187 

Ploughing with the Carabao. 206 

A Street Scene from the Foothills. 211 

A Type of Native. 222 


y 

s 


y 

y 


\S 


y 


✓ 

4/ 


xiii 



















(Copy of fetter from Admiral Dewey.) 


No. 1416—S. 

UNITED STATES NAVAL FORGE ON ASIATIC 
STATION. 

Flagship Olympia, 

CAVITE, P. 1 ., November 27,1898. 


SIR:— 

1. 1 have to acknowledge the report prepared by Paymaster 
W. B. Wilcox, and Naval Cadet, L. R. Sargent, of the vessel 
under your command, on their recent journey through the Island 
Qf Luzon, 

2. You will please express to these officers my highest com¬ 
mendation for their thoroughness of observation, and for the 
care and ability shown in the preparation of this valuable report. 

Very respectfully, 

(Signed) GEORGE DEWEY, 

Rear Admiral U. S. Navy, 
Commanding U. S. Naval Force on Asiatic Station. 

The Commanding Officer, 

U. S. S. Monadnock, 

Cavite, P. I. 



(Copy of the endorsement of Admiral Dewey forwarding the report made 
to him of the journey described in the following pages.) 


FLAGSHIP OLYMPIA, 


CAVITE, P. I., December i, 1898. 

Approved and respectfully forwarded for the information of 
the Navy Department. 

Especial attention is invited to this interesting and carefully 
prepared report, which, in my opinion, contains the most com¬ 
plete and reliable information obtainable in regard to the present 
state of the northern part of Luzon Island. 

(Signed) GEORGE DEWEY, 

Rear Admiral, U. S. N., 
Commanding Asiatic Station. 




CHAPTER I. 


IN OLD MANILLA. 

I N the old city of Manila, on April 30, 1898, when 
the cathedral bells had sounded the last Ave 
Maria upon Spanish regime that had for more 
than three centuries and a half dominated the Phil¬ 
ippines by means peculiar to itself alone, the cur¬ 
tain dropped upon the scene in the last act of 
Spain’s colonial greatness, and upon a nation that 
had given so much to the world by its discoveries 
of the now important parts of the globe. 

The glory and magnificence that had held full 
sway in the capital of the Philippines in the early 
part of the nineteenth century are being rapidly re¬ 
placed by a realistic, latter-day civilization. The 
small, old walled city on banks of Pasig river, with 
moats and castellated towers and dungeons that 
gave ample security for the perpetration of all 
kinds of intrigues, contained seventeen religious, 
seventeen official and ten military edifices, cover¬ 
ing more than half the total area within its walls. 


>7 


18 THROUGH LUZON. 

The remote situation of the islands, and the fact 
of their being so little known, and of less interest 
to the outside world, gave those in official position 
ample opportunity to indulge the full bent of their 
inclination, which they considered adequate recom¬ 
pense for their exile in a country inhabited by a 
not over-civilized race of people. 

At this time the Governor-General was supreme 
and his advisers consisted of the Archbishop of 
Manila, the military and naval commanders, and 
various other official chiefs, which gave him a pow¬ 
er as absolute as the nature of the individual 
wished to exercise. The number of Spaniards who 
came from the Peninsula was limited, and those 
who received appointment to the colony saw the 
years pass tranquilly, in quietude, contentment 
and happiness. 

Nothing disturbed the continual round of ease 
but fiesta dias, which are always numerous enough 
in Spanish countries. The Governor-General ap¬ 
peared in public in all the splendor of his rank, and 
when he moved about the city he was constantly 
surrounded by officers and others of the military 
force, clothed in all the gorgeousness that could 
be displayed. The nights were made brilliant with 
social gatherings when women and men donned 
the finest raiment peculiar to their sex, making the 


IN OLD MANILA. 


19 


scene animated and intoxicating and the hours 
slip away unnoticed. All this prodigality of dis¬ 
play was intended to, and resulted in, impressing 
the native mind with awe and admiration. For 
indolence and lack of energy the climate made 
ample excuse. There was no thought of the mor¬ 
row, no care for the inhabitants, only in so far as 
they served their uses as attendants and provided 
the products of the soil, for which the only return 
was the empty honor of serving their masters. 

The various religious orders, Augustines, Domi¬ 
nicans and Franciscans, were the first to penetrate 
the interior and establish their missions among the 
naturales, and the books published by them gave a 
more minute description of the people and their 
manner of living than any that had heretofore been 
written, but during all the years of Spanish con¬ 
trol there was little done by that government to 
bring the resources and productions of the country 
up to a level even with that of China. 

With the opening of closer communication by 
the Suez Canal, and by cable, more Europeans ar¬ 
rived, and in time the new city of Manila, across 
the Pasig, grew into importance, and to-day is 
modern in many ways. Living is not so dreadful 
as it might seem to be in a tropical country, and 
with reasonable caution there need not be much 


2 


20 


THROUGH LUZON. 


fear of endemic diseases. The natural thrift of the 
Englishman has added much to make one’s so¬ 
journ in Manila more attractive than it would oth¬ 
erwise be. There is the English Club, the Tiffin 
Club, Jockey Club, grounds for tennis and cricket, 
and many other customs and ideas which an Eng¬ 
lishman invariably packs as part of his luggage 
when he leaves home for a colonial residence. 
There are also other means of recreation. In the 
early evening along the Luneta, when all that is 
beautiful and fashionable pass and repass in hand¬ 
somely equipped Victorias and on horseback, 
which, with the recent arrivals in carromates and 
quiles, make a picturesque and animated line of 
turnouts for two hours, during the coolest portion 
of the day. The hotels are well furnished and the 
food is such that one, not over particular, can sat¬ 
isfy his appetite wholesomely by forgetting that 
there are better things elsewhere. Most of the im¬ 
portant commercial houses, as well as the only 
railroad from Manila to Dagupan, are managed by 
Englishmen. 

One does not so much mind the rainy season, 
which extends from June until late in November, 
as during those months the freshness occasioned 
by frequent and abundant showers lowers the tem¬ 
perature many degrees. The months of March, 


IN OLD MANILA. 


21 


April and May are hot and dry, while from No¬ 
vember to February it is dry, but more temperate. 
In these three climatic divisions of the year the 
cool season has an average of 71 degrees F., with 
34 rainy days; the hot and dry, 87 degrees, with 30 
days of rain; the wet 84 degrees, with 72 rainy 
days; a total of 136 days with 55.11 inches of rain¬ 
fall, and an extreme range in temperature of only 
16 degrees for the entire year. 

During the early morning Manila is full of busi¬ 
ness life and excitement, to which is added the 
happy throng of well-dressed native women going 
to and returning from mass; but at noon the city 
has the aspect of a deserted village; the major por¬ 
tion of the merchant class take a siesta until two or 
three o’clock in the afternoon, when the city is 
again enlivened for the rest of the day. 

In mingling with the many English and Philip¬ 
pine residents whom I had met in the latter part of 
1898, I made frequent inquiries about the interior, 
its people, its lands and productions, but found the 
statements not what I desired in definiteness, with 
most of the information dependent upon not alto¬ 
gether too reliable sources. It was, indeed, so un¬ 
satisfactory that I concluded that a tour through 
the heart of the island would repay all the effort 
and hardship incidental to a close investigation of 
a new and interesting country. 


THROUGH LUZON. 


22 


When Luzon in its magnificence and extent is 
generally known to comprise 68,932 square miles, 
with an extreme length from northwest to south¬ 
east of 480 miles, and a population of 3,500,000, it 
will be readily seen what a vast territory remains 
to be fully explored. While this is in progress, 
each year will add much to the general knowledge 
of the country, and will result in great benefit to all 
who may seek that locality as a place for occupa¬ 
tion and to share in the many developments which 
will rapidly follow the peaceful possession by the 
United States. 

The many discouragements to be encountered in 
making an extended tour through Luzon, as shown 
by the route on the map in the front of this book, 
seemed to crop up on every hand, and the proba¬ 
bilities of success were not inviting. Many of the 
residents of Manila to whom my proposed journey 
was made known did not encourage the undertak¬ 
ing. They said the difficulties lay in the holding of 
the interior by the Filipino insurgents, who would 
not wish to assist any foreigner in an investiga¬ 
tion of the country, and then there were the fierce 
and cannibalistic Igorrotes and Negritos, whose 
chief occupation was head-hunting, and, while con¬ 
templating my journey, I frequently imagined my- 


THE EUNETA AT MANILA. 














IN OLD MANILA. 




self threatened with being eaten alive in the wilds 
of the province of Nueva Vizcaya. 

In October, 1898, the American military con¬ 
trol was effective only in Manila and Cavite. The 
insurgents, under Aguinaldo, who had proclaimed 
himself President of the whole archipelago, im¬ 
mediately after Dewey’s victory, were supposedly 
in complete possession of every part of the Island 
outside of these two cities, and their lines were so 
close to the outposts of our army that their people 
could at times converse with our soldiers. Gen¬ 
eral Otis’s authority did not extend much beyond 
a three-mile radius from the center of Manila, 
while Admiral Dewey held and operated the Navy 
Yard at Cavite. Even the country between Ma¬ 
nila and Cavite was in the hands of Aguinaldo, so 
much so that our officers had been refused per¬ 
mission to land at any intermediate point by water, 
and were prohibited from traversing the distance 
by road. 

With this knowledge in my possession I returned 
on board the “Monadnock” one evening and un¬ 
folded my plans to Naval Cadet L. R. Sargent, a 
young man who, though slight in build, I knew 
had more courage and endurance than any other 
person whom I could wish to accompany me. He 
was not only willing, but full of enthusiasm and 


26 


THROUGH LUZON. 


anxiety to go. The most serious and real obstacle 
in the way of carrying out our scheme was the 
necessary leave of absence. We had made a sketch 
on a small map showing the country we intended 
passing through, and sent it to Captain Whiting, 
then commanding the “Monadnock,” who referred 
it to Admiral Dewey with a favorable endorse¬ 
ment, which implied much significance in the furth¬ 
erance of our cause. When the application was re¬ 
turned from the Admiral with his approval and an 
order to make a full report to him, it was with the 
greatest delight and fondest hopes that we began 
the preparation of the arrangements necessary for 
such an undertaking, which consisted in providing 
ourselves with horses, guns, tents and food. 

At this juncture I was unavoidably detained on 
board the vessel for two days, but in the meantime 
Mr. Sargent, through his acquaintance with Major 
Bement, of the army, was busy getting together 
horses and equipments. Three of these animals 
were obtained from the army stock, and five of 
them I bought in the open market. The tents and 
saddles were loaned from the stores captured from 
the Spaniards. During our trip I found these old- 
fashioned equipments so cumbersome that each day 
I was obliged to cut away such portions as I 
deemed useless and unnecessary, and at the end of 


IN OLD MANILA. 


*7 


our journey, when these mutilated articles were re¬ 
turned to army headquarters, I feared lest my ac¬ 
tion was not appreciated, and was uncertain as to 
the advisability of making inquiries in that direc¬ 
tion. 

I left the ship on the 6th of October and went to 
the hotel Lalla Ary, in Manila, from which place 
the expedition was to start on the 8th of the month. 
Mr. Sargent had gone to Malolos with letters from 
Consul General Williams and General McArthur 
relative to obtaining passes for our expedition from 
Aguinaldo. As these letters were not addressed 
to Aguinaldo personally, for obvious reasons, he 
declined to grant our request. Another trip to 
Malolos became necessary, and Sargent spent a 
day and a night there, joining me at Bayambang 
on Sunday night. 

Aguinaldo is a bright man in every way, young, 
with great force of character, ambitious, and he 
dominates all around him with a power that seems 
peculiar to himself. I had seen him at Cavite Vie¬ 
jo, but unfortunately had no personal conversation 
with him. He adroitly read between the lines that 
the government of the United States did not then, 
nor would it at any future time, recognize his au¬ 
thority. 

Sargent succeeded in obtaining a second inter- 



28 


THROUGH LUZON. 


view with Aguinaldo’s officials concerning the 
greatly desired passes, but with every courtesy 
Aguinaldo declined to give the protection of his 
consent to permit us to penetrate the interior, on 
account of the responsibility he might assume in 
assuring us of safety from injury or death in locali¬ 
ties where his loyalty might be questionable. In 
addition to these difficulties was the oft-repeated 
bugbear of the untamed and terrible Igorrotes of 
the mountains, by whom even Spanish civilization 
had not yet been adopted. We heard this perpet¬ 
ually from the beginning to the end of the journey, 
and when I saw these aborigines personally, they 
did not terrify me half as much as I had been led to 
believe they would. 

Mr. Sargent, however, obtained from Aguinaldo 
an assent to the trip, and only a verbal guarantee 
of the protection of his soldiers, from among whom 
he formed and offered a guard for our escort which 
was neither declined nor accepted. He professed 
to stand in great awe of the President of the United 
States, and seemed to have a serious regard for his 
wrath or approval, and was apprehensive lest any 
disaster to us would reflect upon the security of 
Americans in the different provinces of Luzon. All 
this was but an ingenious way of dissuading us 
from proceeding, and although thus handicapped 


IN OLD MANILA. 


29 


we decided to press forward until we could go no 
farther. 

I took as an outfit eight horses, saddles and 
tents; five native servants, one Winchester rifle, 
one Mauser and one Remington, two navy revolv¬ 
ers, one shot gun, axes and hatchets and a coil of 
rope for use in crossing streams. Blankets, four 
sailor’s clothes bags; some quinine and laudanum 
were also stored away. For food we took only 
twenty five pounds of bacon, twenty-five pounds of 
hardtack, five pounds of tea, and what cooking 
utensils we deemed indispensable; but I hoped to 
supply any deficiency in our larder by foraging on 
the country as we proceeded, as game was said to' 
be quite plentiful. Everything was loaded into the 
cars of the Manila-Dagupan Railroad on Saturday, 
October 8th, for transportation to Bayambang, in 
the province of Pangasinan. I carried a letter of 
introduction from General Charles Whittier, of the 
United States Army, to a Mr. Clark, of Bayam¬ 
bang, who was then in charge of the rice mill of 
Smith, Bell & Co. of Manila, with whom I found 
a welcome and most generous hospitality for my¬ 
self and attendants. He was entertaining a num¬ 
ber of officers of the English navy from her Majes¬ 
ty’s ship “Powerful,” and Sunday was spent in a 
most agreeable and comfortable manner without a 


3 ° 


THROUGH LUZON. 


thought of the hardship’s which were to begin with 
the early morning’s start. 

The railway from Manila to Dagupan,i20 miles, 
an English corporation, traverses the richest and 
most populous part of Luzon, passing through the 
provinces of Manila, with 300,000 population; Bul- 
acan, 239,221; Pampanga, 223,902; Tarlac, 89,339, 
and Pangasinan, 302,178, or nearly one-third the 
total population of the whole island. In this dis¬ 
tance the railroad crosses first the Rio Grande 
Pampanga, emptying into the Bay of Manila, and 
next the Rio Agno, which flows in a northly direc¬ 
tion into the Gulf of Lingayen. Both rivers are 
most important means of transportation for the 
timber found on the thickly wooded banks, and the 
various products from the five provinces which 
they drain. With 136 rainy days in the year there 
is certainly always plenty of water, and the numer¬ 
ous other important rivers of Luzon offer induce¬ 
ment for enterprise in carrying the increasing traf¬ 
fic, by means of shallow stern-wheel steamers. This 
industry will reach surprising proportions in a few 
years. The Rio Grande de Cagayan, which 
courses through this vast territory, will have es¬ 
pecial attention in another chapter. 

The Manila-Dagupan Railroad has been exceed¬ 
ingly profitably in past years, even in competition 


IN OLD MANILA. 


with the water route. It is well built, having steel 
bridges and stone embankments, heavy rails and 
excellent equipment. The General Manager, Mr. 
Higgins, invited me into his private car for the trip. 
His long, hard work has resulted in building a rail¬ 
road which reflects great credit upon himself and 
his company. The projection of the road yet un¬ 
built, leads along the coast from Dagupan to the 
extreme north of the island in the province of Ilo- 
cos Norte, the construction of which, no doubt, 
will shortly follow the return of peace among the 
inhabitants. Quick transportation is most essen¬ 
tial in stimulating production as well as in spread¬ 
ing information that will convince the native of the 
benefits of good government and encourage them 
in habits of thrift and industry. 


CHAPTER II. 


FROM BAYAMBANG TO CARRANGLAN. 

B RIGHT and early on Monday morning, Oc¬ 
tober io, in a drizzling rain, I had the pack 
horses ready, and just before starting Mr. 
Clark gave me little assurance of rapid progress. 
I had thought of covering about twenty-five miles 
a day, but he curbed my impetuosity somewhat 
when he remarked, “Your pace will be that of your 
slowest pack horse,” and subsequently turned out 
that he was correct. I did not figure on the Span¬ 
ish pack saddles, which were seemingly made for 
no other purpose than to tear the hide from the 
horses’ backs and keep an open sore. After I had 
mounted into the saddle, Mr. Clark with a know¬ 
ing smile, said: “You won’t be allowed to go far, 
and when you return in a day or two, you will find 
open house.” Many times during the trying days 
which followed I recalled his words, and my 
thoughts reverted longingly to the “open house. 


32 








































































































































































STREET SCENE IN MANILA SHOWING GOVERNOR GENERAL’S PALACE. 



















FROM BAYOMBONG TO CARRANGLAN. 35 

The small village of Alcola, in Pangasinan, six 
miles distant, was reached at noon, and here 
opened out my first view of the interior. The rain 
had ceased, the sun shown down with burning 
fierceness, but the roads were seas of mud. Horses 
were of little use for riding; it was all the poor 
beasts could do to carry their heavy saddles, with¬ 
out an extra 210 pounds in the shape of my per¬ 
son. Sometimes a mile or so of dry land was 
found, and at others I was compelled to dismount 
and wade through a stretch of sticky clay in which 
I became mired and stuck fast, and from which I 
had to be assisted. I had thought myself wise and 
prudent in buying a pair of heavy leather boots 
while in Manila—long ones, that reached to my 
knees—and I stuck to them only until I found a 
native with a pair of old shoes, when I quickly 
made a trade. The reader can imagine the weight 
of such a pair of boots when soaked with water 
and covered with mud, and the fatigue and discom¬ 
fort of walking in them when the sun shines out 
fiercely after a heavy shower. My native men did 
not burden themselves with any covering for their 
feet, and provided extremely little clothing for 
their bodies, so that, when these long sloughs were 
met, it was a comparatively easy matter for them 
to get through. Upon the road, which was at 


3 * 


THROUGH LUZON. 


times sufficiently wide to admit of our passing each 
other, we met many carts loaded with rice, hauled 
by the useful and indispensable caribao, or water 
buffalo, an animal much more at home in rivers and 
mud puddles than on dry land, and seemingly es¬ 
pecially designed by Providence for work in a 
country the soil of which is most of the time sub¬ 
merged in a sheet of water. The caribao is a tre¬ 
mendously powerful animal, as the illustration giv¬ 
en here will show. Without him the Luzonos 
would be utterly helpless in the cultivation of their 
fields. 

“It is very common,” says Francisco Jiminez, 
“to see in the hour of siesta, under the shade of a 
tree or hut, the caribao masticating patiently a mis¬ 
erable piece of sugar cane and the owner talking 
tenderly to the animal in most affectionate sen¬ 
tences. A mysterious sympathy unites the caribao 
and native, the beast comprehending all the words 
of his master and indicating his wishes in all his 
movements. When being loaded, and the weight 
increasing too much, he indicates this by expres¬ 
sions in long snorts that it is sufficient. The owner, 
being short, the caribao voluntarily goes down on 
his knees to enable the native to mount. Those 
with sufficient knowledge assert that the only fam¬ 
ily of the Filipino consists of the caribao and game 


FROM BAYOMBONG TO CARRANGLAN. 37 

cock. Upon these he lavishes his fondness, and 
his indolent, egotistic character finds only in them 
a veritable necessity for his life.” 

Campaigning for the army in the provinces of 
Tarlac, Pangasinan.and Neuva Ecija, if it must be 
carried on for any length of time, will be found 
very difficult, as little headway can be made 
through rice fields almost constantly under water 
and roads so frequently impassable. A design 
made by Captain Hahn of the U. S. Engineers at 
Manila, (which I had the pleasure of examining), 
for moving ammunition and supplies for troops in 
just such a country, impressed me as quite the 
thing. It was a square, steel water-tight box, 6 feet 
in length, 4 feet wide and 5 feet high, which was to 
be placed upon runners on dry land, and hauled 
through the deep, wet places by caribao, its weight 
sinking it, but protecting the articles within by 
water tight joints. 

Though this stretch of country is low, it is ad¬ 
mirably suited for rice cultivation, which has re¬ 
cently been resumed after long neglect during the 
insurrection against Spain, and because of its pecul¬ 
iar adaptability for this product, the soil could not 
be turned to other agricultural account with so 
great a profit. At intervals along our paths were to 
be seen native huts, whose occupants were indus- 


38 


THROUGH LUZON. 


triously pounding out rice from palay, as it is called 
when cut from the ground and secured in bunches 
eight inches in length. Rice is the first and most 
important article of food grown, and more than 
ioo different varieties are known, distinguished by 
color, size, taste and application. The variety 
called Quinamalig is early, and produces a harvest 
in three months, and, with the later kinds, two 
crops a year are raised. The ordinary value of 
clean rice is about $1.00 for 133 pounds. The to¬ 
tal production is not sufficient for the wants of the 
inhabitants of the island by thousands of tons, the 
deficiency being imported, mostly from Saigon. 

Resting for a light lunch at Alcola, a large num¬ 
ber of the inhabitants gathered about us from curi¬ 
osity, and I gained as much satisfaction from my 
point of view as did they. All ages and both sexes 
were represented. Some of the men were dressed 
conventionally with their shirts hanging loosely 
outside their trousers, but the more important ele¬ 
ment wore neat fitting military blouses, hats and 
Shoes. The women were attired in the Tagalo cos¬ 
tume: A large piece of any colored light cloth 
draped from the hips down to somewhat below the 
knees, showing a white petticoat beneath, and a 
loose thin white blouse with low neck and short 
sleeves. The youngest of both sexes in ages up 


BRIDGE ACROSS PASIG RIVER AT MANILA. 







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FROM BAYOMBONG TO CARRANGLAN. 4 1 


to six and seven years, had added nothing to their 
stock of birthday clothing. The people were all 
very respectful and polite and offered the hospital¬ 
ity of their homes, but at that time I preferred the 
open air and the shade of an inviting spot on the 
banks of a small stream. It was, perhaps, a mis¬ 
take to neglect to take a long siesta during the 
heat of the day—a custom which even Americans 
will fall into when its advantages are learned—but 
I was impatient to press ahead, and, if possible, 
reach Rosales by nightfall. No telling what the 
roads would be, and there was not much reliable 
information to be had from the natives, who made 
but a few miles a day and camped anywhere at 
night, indifferent as to when they reached their 
destination. On the banks of the rivers are usually 
found small shelters made of bamboo poles and 
nipa, or palms, where the easy-going natives camp 
for days at a time while waiting for the flooded 
streams to subside. 

Proceeding nearly due east along the banks of 
the Rio Agno, I found the roads at times impassa¬ 
ble, and frequently had to turn out and follow a 
trail that led through heavy brush, and on one oc¬ 
casion my horse, after struggling through a stretch 
of deep marsh dropped down exhausted, and, I 
though);, dying, but he was soon restored by the 



42 


THROUGH LUZON. 


application of water and vigorous fanning. This 
road is the only avenue of communication between 
the towns, consequently the natives see very little 
of each other during the wet spells. Had it not 
been for press of time and a promise of good roads 
when in the mountains,I am sure I should have lost 
my courage and determination to finally get 
through. At sundown a fairly desirable spot was 
selected for camp, and, though only about one mile 
from Rosales, I decided on account of darkness 
and fatigue to rest for the night. A tent was soon 
pitched, horses tethered and supper prepared, 
which consisted of fried bacon, hard tack and tea, 
and which was heartily relished by all. 

Soon after making camp we were visited by offi¬ 
cial representatives from the “Presidente Local” of 
Rosales, who extended a most cordial welcome and 
hearty invitation to come into town and enjoy bet¬ 
ter comfort and conveniences for further progress. 

I was grateful for this kindness, the more so be¬ 
cause it was unexpected, and in such striking con¬ 
trast to the feeling I was led to anticipate. Mos¬ 
quitoes were plentiful, but being worn out I rested 
upon the ground without disturbance until morn¬ 
ing. By daylight all hands were up and busy 
packing equipments, and after enjoying the same 
menu as on the night before, proceeded into town. 


FROM BAYOMBONG TO CARRANGLAN. 43 

I learned here that it is the invariable custom for 
strangers to immediately call upon the “Presidente 
Local” on entering the place, and this I made 
haste to do, anxious to meet these people half way 
in the cordial and receptive feeling they appeared 
to have for us. At this time all the local govern¬ 
ment of the different towns was in the hands of 
Aguinaldo’s adherents, and on reaching the house 
of the “Presidente,” I was met by him and his offi¬ 
cials, and found that our arrival had been expected. 
They regretted that we had stopped on the out¬ 
skirts of the town the previous night, and seemed 
fearful lest the discomforts we experienced might 
reflect upon their hospitality. These officials were 
all neatly attired in military dress, with the distin¬ 
guishing insignia of rank—a cane with a gold head 
and a red tassel for the “President,” the same for 
the others, but with a silver head and green tassel. 
Their manners were polite and I found their con¬ 
versation agreeable and friendly. The “Presi¬ 
dente” had undoubtedly received instructions from 
Aguinaldo to send a military escort with us beyond 
Rosales, which was continued by relays all the way 
to Aparri. There was little or no choice in the 
matter of the acceptance of this protection, and I 
readily received it for the security and the shade 


44 


THROUGH LUZON. 


of official recognition it might lend to me as I pro¬ 
ceeded. 

Just before leaving the place an old Tagalo, a 
man whom I had selected in Manila, commenced 
to weaken on the prospects of such a long journey 
and after telling him, in the presence of the others 
that I only wanted men of fearlessness and endur¬ 
ance, I paid him off and sent him back upon a 
broken down horse to Mr. Clark, at Bayambang, I 
had placed about five hundred Mexican dollars in 
the saddle bag with which to replace possible loss 
of animals and for general expenses, and to the 
credit of the inhabitants of all the provinces I trav¬ 
elled through, it was as safe there as in any bank. 
I used but a trifling portion of this amount, for in 
every town my entertainment was given without 
pay, which I the more fully appreciated from the 
fact that the people gave me their best, regretting 
it was not better, while I knew the conditions were 
such they had very little for themselves. 

I left Rosales in about two hours, accompanied 
by six insurgent soldiers armed with Remington 
rifles under the command of a native officer, the 
guard being changed at every town. We were 
also accompanied by a sub-official, Don Tomas, 
who rode by my side, and his conversation was so 
pleasant and his Spanish so correct, that I asked 


FROM BAYOMBONG TO CARRANGLAN. 


45 


him to remain with me throughout the whole trip, 
which he did, his information and acquaintance 
with the country being of great value to me. I 
placed him in charge of all the other servants, but 
he ate with me at every meal and shared my tent. 

From Rosales to Humingan, in the same prov¬ 
ince, a distance of fifteen miles, the roads were 
somewhat better,but there were deep sloughs many 
rods in length and a small river to ford, which, 
with the assistance of caribao brought in from the 
fields, we were able to accomplish in pretty good 
condition. The party now consisted of a long line 
of horses and men on foot, and our arrival was 
made known by courier. For reasons unknown to 
me an employe of the railroad at Manila had put 
my name on the freight bill as the “American Gen¬ 
eral,” and it had preceded me throughout the trip. 
When the expedition arrived at the different sta¬ 
tions and the people saw the “General” in a big 
sombrero, blue flannel shirt, citizen’s coat and leg¬ 
gings, there was a manifest look of doubt and dis¬ 
appointment. Why didn't he travel in uniform and 
\ in the style of an officer of rank? 

At sun down we reached Humingan and met a 
most friendly welcome. I was entertained by the 
“Presidente” at dinner, and was greatly surprised 
at the excellent quality of food and service. The 


46 


THROUGH LUZON. 


table was covered with a neat white linen cloth, the 
dishes were of very good crockery, and the nap¬ 
kins and other essentials better than I had thought 
were used in the country, while the meal consisted 
of excellent soup, fried eggs, roast chicken, boiled 
beef, good bread, potatoes, rice, lettuce, tomatoes, 
good coffee and many sweetmeats. After enjoy¬ 
ing this we all adjourned to the sala, where six 
musicians with flutes, a cornet, violin and guitars 
were in waiting. The average Filipino can furnish 
good music, to which many adapt themselves, and 
they will play for hours. The last thing I remem¬ 
ber before going to sleep that night in a four- 
posted bed, with clean white sheets and pillow 
cases, was the music of this band, and they came 
again in the morning for reveille. 

The “Presidente” made many inquiries regard¬ 
ing the outcome of the war with Spain and their 
own future, and on the other hand I found out as 
much as possible concerning the products and con¬ 
dition of the country. 

An interesting and amusing sight was furnished 
us in the morning by the manner of threshing pal- 
ay, the straw containing rice. Large handfuls of 
this straw are put into a trough and a number of 
young girls in a really pleasing manner do the 
work with a heavy piece of wood about six inches 


FROM BAYOMBONG TO CARRANGLAN. 47 

in diameter and four feet long, by lifting it in the 
air and throwing it down with each hand alternate¬ 
ly. Their motions are regular and certainly very 
graceful, and they appear light hearted and cheer¬ 
ful amid such apparently hard labor. 

But I had as yet found nothing to satisfy my 
curiosity or confirm the reputed wildness of the 
island outside of Manila, and I was anxious to 
pursue my search. After saying muchisimo gra- 
cias to my hospitable entertainer, I started for¬ 
ward with a change of military escort, planning to 
go to Carranglan, nearly due east in the same prov¬ 
ince. This would bring me into a mountainous 
country which promised some contrast to that part 
of my route already traversed. I found, however, 
there were no trails on a straight line over the in¬ 
tervening country, which consisted of small moun¬ 
tains of quite a rugged character. 

A detour to the south around the spur of the 
Caraballo range of mountains to the village of San 
Jose, ten miles distant, seemed to be the only pos¬ 
sible plan, and this course was decided upon. We 
now made better progress and with more comfort, 
and the scenery presented a more pleasing aspect, 
with numerous small mountain streams and a 
thickly wooded territory. This journey was a 
short one, and both animals and men had a long 


48 


THROUGH LUZON. 


night’s rest in which to prepare for one of the 
hardest day’s travel yet encountered. The same 
generous treatment was accorded at San Jose as at 
—the other places visited, and no question was asked 
about passes. I had ample time to arrange an early 
start in the morning, which was important, as most 
of the horses were becoming worn out and were 
getting sore backs, which even the native remedy, 
cigar ashes, did not succeed in curing. I employed 
ten “bagadores,” strong muscular men, who can 
carry more and travel faster than a horse, and for 
the sum of two Mexican dollars they engaged to 
go to Puncan, fifteen mountain miles distant, and 
return. This was at the rate of ten cents in gold 
for each man, and the trip consumed two days. 

Our long line of soldiers, servants and horses 
moved into the foothills during a heavy rain. It 
was of no avail to wait for a clear day at this season 
in this locality, and I knew it was less exhausting 
with the rain than in a hot sun. The course along 
the Pantabangan river was followed through 
heavy timber until the trail led up the mountain, 
where in places it was barely two feet wide, with 
rock obstructions, waterfalls and mires that seemed 
to have no end. Horses were useless, and every 
one dismounted, throwing bridle reins over the 
saddles, and permitting them to make the best of 


FROM BAYOMBONG TO CARRANGLAN. 49 

their way, as we were doing on foot. The heavy 
rain had soaked through my mackintosh, making 
it too heavy to carry, and I trudged along all day 
soaked to my skin. In some places the angle of 
elevation in the rocks was so great that our horses 
slid back to the starting point a number of times 
after almost making the ascent, and when finally 
the top was reached we found the other side to be 
equally precipitous. The scenery was wild and 
grand but the fatigue great. Much of the trail was 
very indistinct and covered with bamboo and thick 
shrubbery, which, when parted and suddenly re¬ 
leased, struck one's face with stinging force. The 
route was only fifteen miles in length, but it led 
through ravines, rocks and mountain streams in¬ 
numerable, and on every side grew a wealth of 
hard wood timber that seemed sufficient for the 
whole world, and which, I believe, could be 
brought to the Rio Pampamga for transportation 
to Manila with great profit. Some pine was seen, 
but the principal species were the hard wood of 
the tropical climate—the molave, narra, ebony, 
teak and numerous other varieties. Some of these 
trees were thirty-six inches in diameter and rose 
majestically to a height of one hundred feet with¬ 
out a limb, until capped by an umbrella-shaped 
bunch of leaves. This magnificent virgin forest of 


5o 


THROUGH LUZON. 


extraordinary value, neglected completely and 
probably never penetrated by intelligent man, ex¬ 
acts unbounded admiration in passing, and will of¬ 
fer great inducements to the pioneers to convert 
them to profitable use when these beautifully wood¬ 
ed lands of the torrid zone are more widely known. 

These wild woods are the home of the jabali, or 
wild boar, whose presence was shown by the many 
holes in the ground, torn up by his tusks while in 
search of roots and herbs. If there is anything 
sweeter and more delicious than the meat of the 
wild boar roasted upon a spit in the open air be¬ 
fore a camp fire, I have yet to find it. Numerous 
venado (wild deer) are also found, and dried veni¬ 
son forms the richest and the principal flesh food of 
the natives. 

I venture to say that when the time comes to 
survey and locate this vast territory most of it will 
be found to pertain to ecclesiastical orders, as in 
other districts, and I fear there will be zones only 
described by degrees of latitude and longitude to 
which title will be protected by the United States. 

I dislike to pass on without a more minute de¬ 
scription of these woods, but others who will follow 
me will contribute their share to diffusing a knowl¬ 
edge of the material wealth and extent of this prov¬ 
ince, Neuva Ecija, which offers so much encour- 


FROM BAYOMBONG TO CARRANGLAN. 51 

agement to inquiring young men of endurance, 
ability and progressiveness. 

All day we proceeded in a heavy rain without 
halt, and I many times wished our speed was as 
great as that of the “bagadores,” the native pack¬ 
men, who seemed to have muscles of iron, and 
were never exhausted with heavy loads; but the 
native horses or ponies had to be favored, and at 
times the packmen were miles in advance of us 
until they reached the banks of the raging Panta^ 
bangan river where they waited for us. Then fol¬ 
lowed a long consultation with Don Tomas and 
others of the party as to the impossibility of cross¬ 
ing the stream and the necessity of making camp 
for the night. The natives ail said it was foolhardy 
to attempt it. The stream was about 150 yards in 
width and came tearing down at the rate of seven 
knots an hour—black with mud and most treach¬ 
erous looking. But without a word, and to the 
astonishment of the natives and soldiers, Sargent 
plunged his horse into the current and swam to the 
other side. This encouraged my men, and the 
bagadores proceeded further up the river and fin¬ 
ally made a crossing. I alone remained, and my 
horse was not inclined to carry me over as my 
weight was too great. Here the long coil of rope 
came into use. One end was fastened to a tree, 


5 2 


THROUGH LUZON. 


the other to be brought across the stream to where 
I stood. It was Sargent, of course, who attempted 
this, but while yet in the middle of the stream the 
cable parted at a knot and he disappeared beneath 
the torrent. I stood trembling with terror, fear¬ 
ing that was the last of him, but he came up spout¬ 
ing the muddy water from his mouth and reached 
the shore in safety. The “bagadores” now came 
over for me, two of them bracing my horse against 
the current, while one preceded the animal and an¬ 
other brought up the rear. 

Puncan was now promised us muy cerca, but 
we kept on and on, crossing branches of this 
stream at least fifteen times at deep fording places, 
large boulders at the bottom of each making it 
hazardous indeed. But the rugged scenery and 
enchanting waterfalls tumbling over precipices, 
filled my mind so interestingly that I quite forgot 
the troublesome part of the trail. At dusk the vil¬ 
lage coming into view, gladdened the hearts of man 
and beast for the hardest part of the whole journey 
was completed. 

I shall never forget the welcome of the local of¬ 
ficial, whose name has passed from my memory, 
nor how he offered all he had for our comfort. The 
horses were unsaddled and the outfit put into the 
one room that constituted the abode of the ‘‘Pres- 


FROM BAYOMBONG TO CARRANGLAN. 53 

idente Local.” The houses of these interior set¬ 
tlements are small and square, consisting of bam¬ 
boo frames thatched with palms and having nipa 
roofs. They are erected on hard wood posts 
about five feet from the wet ground, the space un¬ 
derneath being occupied by pigs, chickens and 
dogs. 

The building of a hut or house and the fitting 
out of a home among the natives offers none of the 
anxiety and expense encountered by us at home. 
The young man does it all in a short time, and 
alone, using only his “bolo” (a native weapon and 
domestic utensil resembling a long corn knife), to 
cut his bamboo and palm leaves, and securing the 
parts together with flexible strips of bamboo or 
ratan. The floor is likewise of bamboo strips, and 
any furniture besides a flat earthen space for a fire, 
a mat to sleep on, and a picture of the Virgin Mary 
is considered a piece of reckless extravagance. 

Eggs and chickens were found, together with 
rice for servants and escort, and the supper served 
from these seemed to me the best I had ever eaten. 
It was a difficult task and aggravating in the ex¬ 
treme to get the boys who attended to horses to 
gather enough palay and sacati (rice straw and 
grass) for food for them, and no amount of threats 
had any effect; the successful means being to go 


54 


THROUGH LUZON. 


with them and see that it is done. A proverb says 
“Que donde nace el Indio nace el bejuco” (“Where 
grows the ratan the native is born”), and a switch 
made of ratan is necessary if any obedience is to be 
had from the younger native boys. “It is found 
in all Philippino houses,” says the Padra San Au¬ 
gustine, but it had escaped my notice. For the 
night all of us slept in one room, on flooring of 
bamboo strips, in our wet clothing and blankets. 

With breakfast over in the gray of the morning, 
the line was formed to start on the way to Carran- 
glan. The trail led across a small river, then into 
a long stretch of marshy flats, covered with large 
pine trees and thick underbrush of bamboo, open¬ 
ing into an extensive, rolling, grass covered plain 
ten miles in length and five in width. From the 
highest point of the hills we saw the range of 
mountains in verdure, with clouds and smoke in¬ 
termingling, and were told that on the very caps 
of these were the homes and haunts of the fero- 
^ cious Igorrotes. The kodak was snapped at this 
and the surrounding and beautifully green, undul¬ 
ating country, but, alas, the miserable instrument 
failed to produce any result when the plates were 
developed later. 

Wending our way over the rich soil in an open 
prairie, uncultivated and unoccupied, it struck me 


FROM BAYOMBONG TO CARRANGLAN. 55 

as a particularly fine locality for sheep and cattle 
raising, where immense herds will no doubt dot its 
surface when security is assured the pastoral set¬ 
tler. At four o’clock in the afternoon we reached 
the banks of the Carranglan river, a view of which 
was sufficient to satisfy me that camping for the 
night was the only resource, though the town was 
but four miles from the opposite side. Before 
darkness set in guns were fired to attract the at¬ 
tention of the people, it being our object to obtain 
caribao to carry ourselves and baggage over. A 
native swam across the river and informed us that, 
on account of heavy rains in the mountains, the 
stream was rising rapidly, and that we must wait 
until morning, when animals w r ould be furnished. 

Tents were pitched, and our followers very re¬ 
luctantly built for themselves a rude protection of 
bamboo and palm, fearful of spending the night so 
near a river infested with cayman (crocodiles). I 
shared my tent with Don Tomas, the major domo, 
but he could not be induced to sleep. During all 
of the long night he sat with his hands around his 
knees, watching the lighted candles and telling 
horrible stories of how the cayman would crawl up 
on the bank, lash a horse to death with his tail and 
then devour him. The other natives built huge 
fires to keep the reptiles away, shooting off guns 


5 6 


THROUGH LUZON. 


to give themselves courage while watching, and 
frequently imagined they saw the piercing eyes of 
the monsters slowly advancing towards their hid¬ 
ing place. But the night was passed without dis¬ 
aster or adventure. It had rained in torrents con¬ 
tinually and we were drenched to the skin, the wa¬ 
ter soaking the blankets put upon the bare ground, 
so much so that half our bodies were afloat most 
of the night, so that when morning came, and with 
it the caribao, we were heartily glad to be wel¬ 
comed by the head officials into a large dry and 
comfortable building made of brick and stone in 
the town of Carranglan. The houses now occu¬ 
pied by the local government were the conventos, 
formerly the habitation of the priests. Always 
roomy, strongly built, and adjoining the church, 
they together formed the only imposing structures 
in every town and village. The life of celibacy and 
ascetic self-denial imposed upon the priests was as 
far as possible carried out in these remote places, 
but they enjoyed all the amenities of ordinary hu¬ 
man existence. Each in his parish had a little 
less than a principality—his word was a command. 
Nothing but the best was his in all things, and with 
a retinue of servants, well stocked stables, and the 
power to order anything done by the natives, he 
found ample occupation ,and compensation for 










A STREET SCENE IN MAEATE. 


























FROM BAYOMBONG TO CARRANGLAN. 59 

what otherwise would have been a weary lapse of 
time. 

Now these men are stripped of all their posses¬ 
sions and authority, and remain prisoners in the 
hands of the Filipinos, being carefully guarded, but 
housed and fed from what remains of the bounty 
of their captors. 

The curiosity of the natives increased as I pro¬ 
gressed further into the unbeaten tracks and upon 
our approach we were surrounded by a greater 
part of the men, women and children of the nearby 
\ population, always respectful, smiling, and with 
suave and gentle manners. Yet there was an ele¬ 
ment of young men, nearly all of whom were well 
dressed, whose looks were sinister and critical, and 
whose reserved and self-important manner and 
carriage was forbidding—a class of indolents whose 
egoism seemed sublime, and who really believed 
they would supplant the Spaniard in all the fat 
offices under the flag of the Philippino Republic. 

Shortly after getting settled for the night, three 
of the company were taken with violent dysentery, 
due to the previous night’s exposure in the rain. 
Every concern was manifested by our host for our 
welfare, and a native doctor was summoned. He 
was an old, white haired man, neatly dressed and 
possessed of great dignity. He questioned me in 
4 


6o 


THROUGH LUZON. 


Spanish as to the symptoms and probable cause of 
our illness and looked as wise and thoughtful as 

l 

any respected practitioner in our own country. 
He procured and applied one kind of leaves to our 
heads and another sort to our stomachs, his pro¬ 
fessional pride seeming to be quite satisfied when 
learning that all were well again the next night. It 
would have been a pity to injure his pride by tell¬ 
ing him that quinine and laudanum had probably 
done more good than his medicine. Possibly his 
herbs did possess some remarkable qualities—I 
would be the last one to deny this—and am sorry 
that I felt in no mood to give his prescription an 
exclusive field in my ailment. A suffering man is 
not apt to be of an experimental turn of mind. 

Carranglan is a center of rice cultivation, and the 
preparation of the grain for local use and for sale 
is extensively carried on. The inhabitants were 
especially busy in this occupation while we were 
there, because of the pressing demand for rice 
which followed the resumption of its cultivation 
after the revolt against the Spanish government. 
All through this town, almost in every house, peo¬ 
ple were seen threshing rice in the customary way, 
with a long, hardwood pole, and a trough made of 
heavy timber. It was pleasing to hear the sound 
occasioned by this work far into the night, and, to 


FROM BAYOMBONG TO CARRANGLAN. 61 


encourage the girls in their toil, a man had perched 
himself on a high seat and^on a guitar played a 
tune with a rythm to suit the lifting and dropping 
of the threshing flail. 

Nothing was left undone by the “Presidente Lo¬ 
cal” and his under officials to furnish the choicest 
food the town was capable of producing, and to his 
credit and that of his assistants, it was extremely 
good, and given without any charge whatever. I 
know of no other country where a stranger can 
travel hundreds of miles and be entertained by the 
very best the country produces, where it is offered 
freely and cheerfully and with apologies for not 
having something better, and not be permitted to 
pay a cent in return. This, too, in a land devastat¬ 
ed by a revolution that had begun nearly three 
years previously. It is an example of generosity 
and goodness of heart I have never met with be¬ 
fore in my wanderings in various countries of the 
world, where it has always been my keenest en¬ 
joyment to travel on untrodden paths, far away 
from the hum of the busy turmoil and unceasing 
activity of a city’s throng. 

After one day’s delay I prepared for going 
North with a fresh lot of “bagadores”and soldiers 
—more of the latter than usual, for fear of Iggoro- 
tes—and also two extra horses. When saddled and 


62 


THROUGH LUZON. 


packed ready for moving, the church bells were 
rung and guns fired as a “send-off,” continuing 
until the train was lost to view in the densely 
wooded trails. 

Soon the beautiful valley of the Carranglan riv¬ 
er was reached, and up this we continued all morn¬ 
ing, resting at noon upon its banks, surrounded 
by rolling, grassy plains on every side. The 
thoughtfulness of my host had provided roast 
chicken put up in green palm leaves, and boiled 
beef, while I carried plenty of rice for the others 
connected with the expedition, which now con¬ 
sisted of twelve horses and twenty-four men all 
told. After lunch and a short siesta we moved on 
through this long stretch of beautiful virgin prairie 
uninhabited completely, although a place in which 
cattle would thrive immensely and never lack 
abundance of shade, water and grass. The trail 
here was decidedly superior to all the others trav¬ 
eled, but notwithstanding this the intensely hot 
and burning sun made our progress slow until late 
in the afternoon, when we stopped at the base of 
the Caraballo Sur, the range of mountains dividing 
the provinces of Nueva Ecija and Nueva Vizcaya, 
and forming the water shed for the rivers running 
North and South from this point. 


FROM BAYOMBONG TO CARRANGLAN. 63 

No more enchanting location for a camp could 
be desired. A crystal, running brook tumbled 
down from the sides of the precipitous rocks, and 
the beauty of the surrounding verdure was en¬ 
hanced by the back ground afforded by the grand 
and rugged Caraballo mountains, which the next 
day challenged our energy and endurance to sur¬ 
mount. The few Spanish soldiers who had passed 
this way at various times had built and left behind 
them a tolerable good shelter of bamboo and nipa, 
which served the purpose of our party, and our 
tent was not required. A delicious supper of 
bacon, hard tack and tea was prepared, but the 
soldiers were well satisfied with moris queta (boiled 
rice) poured into their helmets, from which with 
their fingers they ate their fill. A Filipino soldier 
gets little sustenance other than rice, and failing 
this, succulent roots serve as a substitute, with 
such wild game as can be shot, so in this manner 
life is sustained in the mountains and foot-hills al¬ 
most indefinitely. 

The greatest dread was manifested by the na¬ 
tives of the Igorrotes, these wild men of the moun¬ 
tains, but I wished to know more about them, and 
from people who had seen them and knew their 
ways. Having camped so early and not feeling at 
all fatigued, I asked Don Tomas to relate to me 


64 


THROUGH LUZON. 


their modes of life and customs, which he gladly 
consented to do. How true his tale is I cannot 
say, though it agrees with the most of the legend¬ 
ary accounts I have read by Spanish writers. 
While the others were asleep, before rousing camp 
fire, and with pipes and cigarettes, I listened until 
the dying embers gave notice of the time to turn 
in for rest, to prepare for the arduous work of the 
morrow, I gleaned from Don Tomas the follow¬ 
ing interesting account of these much feared peo¬ 
ple: 

The Igorrotes* inhabit the mountain ranges of 
the Caraballos, live in rancherias, or small settle¬ 
ments, and have the fame of being the most cruel 
and war-like people of the archipelago, and have 
also been accused of cannibalism. They seldom 
come down to the foot hills and have little dealings 
with their more civilized neighbors in the plains 
and valleys. They are fierce and untamed, head 
hunting being a past time of the race. Though 
still maintaining this hideous and barbarous cus¬ 
tom, they have made great advances in civilized 
pursuits, isolated though they are, and the fertile 
portions of the mountains are under cultivation, 


*Igorrote is a generic term for various tribes of 
the same race. . . _ - 1 



FROM BAYOMBONG TO CARRANGLAN. 65 

producing rice, coffee, tobacco, famous oranges, 
guaves and many other articles for their own use, 
together with many fine horses and cattle. A very 
few of the tamer ones come down among the Ta- 
galos for the purpose of trading these products for 
cloth and trinkets, and are known as mansos. 

The Igorrotes mine gold and iron, which they 
work into armaments, instruments and ornaments. 
All their lances, spears, arrows and knives are made 
by themselves and decorated with gold. Their 
only article of clothing is a breech-clout for the 
men and a short skirt for the women, the children 
going to greater extremes. They are so accus¬ 
tomed to running and climbing in the mountains 
that any prolonged stay in the foothills and plains 
is disagreeable to them and injurious to their 
health. The bonds of family and marriage are 
recognized, but there is no religion other than 
superstitiousness. 

Two marriage ceremonies are in vogue, the one 
most frequently employed being that which in¬ 
volved the popular custom of hunting human 
heads. When the young Igorrote discovers flut- 
terings in his heart, he straightway gets his lance 
and leaves the mountains for the foothills. Choos¬ 
ing here some frequented trail of the traveler, he 
hides in the bushes or among the rocks in the vi- 


66 


THROUGH LUZON. 


cinity and awaits for the first grown man to pass. 
When his patience is rewarded by the approach of 
his prey, he rushes forth and casts his spear with 
unvarying accuracy and then flees back to the 
mountain. When he has given the victim what he 
considers sufficient time to die, he returns, severs 
the head from the body and proceeds in ecstacy 
with it to his people, who receive him with applause 
and admiration. The event is quickly made known 
throughout the whole village and eager crowds 
gather in curiosity to see to which marriageable 
girl he will present his gory human head, the en¬ 
sign of his prowess and proof of his affection. No 
doubt many a mother with marriageable daugh¬ 
ters weighs her chances, and many a father com¬ 
pares with contempt the small, weak head now 
brought forth with that which won for him his 
charming bride years ago—but who is now bent, 
flat-footed and fat. 

The maiden receives the token with shyness and 
dignity, but never entertains any idea of refusing 
him. This is the license for the wildest revelry 
throughout the village and the indulgence of every 
excess. Cattle are killed, feasts prepared and wine 
flows freely. If the family of the bride is rich, one 
of the female servants is killed as a measure of the 
importance of the occasion. 


FROM BAYOMBONG TO CARRANGLAN. 67 

The other form of marriage practiced is less hid¬ 
eous but less indulged. In this ceremony the 
young Igorrote who yearns for a bride must pro¬ 
cure her by his skill in use of the bow and arrow. 
The whole village turns out to witness his success 
or failure, the males all armed with spears. The 
bride-elect stands apart from the others, gayly 
adorned with jewels and laces, holding under one 
arm a palm leaf. The young man places himself in 
a position before her at some distance, and takes 
one shot at the leaf. This is a moment calculated 
to try the nerve of the bravest, for if he misses his 
hit he hits his Miss, and all the men about him 
stand with spears poised in readiness to kill him if 
he fails to strike the mark. It speaks well for their 
skill and accuracy that a young Igorrote seldom 
meets death in this remarkable marriage ceremony. 

I discovered personally that these various tribes 
were cowards, and it was only necessary to fire a 
gun into the thick bushes along the road to deter 
them from attempting an attack. The native Fil¬ 
ippino lives in mortal dread of them, and the Span¬ 
iards, after several centuries, have done nothing 
towards bringing them under subjection because 
they feared to pursue them into their mountain 
fastnesses. Later on I met many of these hill 
tribes, and while splendidly built and as muscular 


68 


THROUGH LUZON. 


as oxen, there was a docility in their looks and ac¬ 
tions that convinced me, that, if properly handled, 
they would become pacific in a short time and de¬ 
velop into useful workers and tillers of the soil. It 
was only the vague legends of their ferocious hab¬ 
its that had made them seem so terrible 

My plan had originally been to cross the north¬ 
ern part of Luzon from east to west through their 
abiding places, which could not be carried out, 
however, because of opposition from the Tagalo 
official of that district, who said it was but courting 
death to appear among these millions of cannibals. 
According to all available statistics, there are but 
60,000 of these Igorrotes distributed over an im¬ 
mense territory. 

I believe Don Tomas was completely saturated 
with these ideas and thoroughly believed in them, 
and the more horrible he could make these people 
appear, the more certainly he would be spared the 
fear of accompanying me, and thus, perhaps, save 
his precious head to carry back again upon his 
shoulders to Manila, instead of having it adorn 
the home of an Igorrote—another trophy of the 
number of assassinations committed. 

When roads are built through these hidden and 
unknown regions they will be found to be the most 
desirable parts of the island—the salubrious moun¬ 
tain air contributing in a great degree toward mak¬ 
ing them exceedingly healthful and productive. 


CHAPTER III. 


CROSSING THE CARABALLOS. 

T HE day dawned clear and warm, though 
very early and hasty breakfast, the line was 
tempered by a light breeze, and after a 
formed for climbing the mountains. A now de¬ 
parted governor of the archipelago had cut a wide 
road through the rocks, but that had been done so 
long ago the soil had washed away, leaving masses 
of stone obstructions, very difficult to surmount. 
The “bagadores,” each carrying about 60 pounds 
on their backs, glided along with ease and speed, 
much more so than the native horse without a 
load, although I discovered one of the natives, a 
follower of our party, mounted upon one of my 
horses, but he judiciously lost no time in dismount¬ 
ing at my command. I walked the entire distance, 
a hundred yards at a time, stopping for breath at 
each level spot. It was figured out how much 
weight a man weighing 210 pounds would lift 
while climbing to an elevation of 3297 feet, the 

69 


7 o 


THROUGH LUZON. 


height of the pass over the Caraballo Mountains, 
and the result of this computation was gratifying 
and comforting to me in my exhausted condition. 

At the summit of this range the Spaniards had 
erected an estaca mento, or small fort, which com¬ 
manded an extended view of the surrounding hills 
and valleys, whose primitive, natural beauty and 
splendor I have seldom seen surpassed. It was 
here that the Filippinos attacked the Spanish 
garrison, crawling upon them until within a short 
distance, when the signal was given and a com¬ 
pany of native soldiers charged the fort with only 
their bolos, compelling the surrender of the Span¬ 
iards, with all their arms and ammunition. The 
elevation of this point was taken by barometer, 
showing 1005 metres, and another attempt at pho¬ 
tography was made, with the same disastrous re¬ 
sults as on a previous occasion. 

As I stood at this elevation and scanned the sur¬ 
rounding country, this region so seldom penetrat¬ 
ed by intelligent man, neglected, yet beautiful in 
its primitive grandure, made a picture of nature 
before which the tracings of a limner’s hand, guided 
by a genius almost transcendent, would pall. Crag¬ 
gy, denuded rocks, a virgin forest tapestried with 
green, and a display of majestic beauty which one 
encounters only in the torrid zone. 


CROSSING THE CARABALLOS. 


7 1 


After a hasty lunch we proceeded down the 
mountain, meeting the first travelers in an oppo¬ 
site direction—the ubiquitous caribao. I was 
filled with surprise at seeing these animals, with 
hoofs like oxen, picking their way among the 
boulders and ragged, stony paths. On both sides 
of us a magnificent forest scene presented itself to 
view, grand and towering trees, “monarchs of the 
woods,” and thus it continued for many miles. 

Once over the barrier of the mountain range a 
more interesting region was promised. The peo¬ 
ple were in better circumstances and dinners and 
dances, with bands playing, were an almost daily 
occurrence, and our arrival was made the occasion 
for an elaborate display. This was encouraging, at 
least, and I must confess I had an eagerness to ac¬ 
cept and acknowledge every evidence of such hos¬ 
pitality. 

Slowly we paced along until the Aritao river lay 
at our feet, glittering along its banks in the sun¬ 
shine as though a mass of flowing, liquid gold. 
The natives declared it was gold; that the sands 
close to the water were filled with it, I dismounted 
and gathered up several handfuls of this soil, but 
upon examination found it to be but fine particles 
of sulphide of iron, so light that it floated upon the 
surface of the stream, shining and sparkling in 


7* 


THROUGH LUZON. 


golden hued reflections as it passed. This river 
was forded without difficulty, such a thing as a 
bridge having not as yet been seen. Some later 
traveler in these parts may find the aspect changed 
—good roads, bridges, or a railway carrying quan¬ 
tities of rice, sugar, tobacco, coffee and various 
forest products, when once the great wealth of 
this country is known and appreciated; but it must 
be stirred up from its lethargy through the med¬ 
ium of rapid communication and transportation. 
The different dialects of the provinces may be 
found to be a slight hindrance to trade, but by fre¬ 
quent intermingling these different tongues will 
become blended into one homogeneous, intelli- 
ble language. Then the Igorrotes, Negritos, Ibil- 
aos, Ifugaos and a dozen other tribes will surrender 
their tyranny over the most fertile and attractive 
expanse of mountain and valley, to the onward 
march of intelligent modern civilization, thus 
opening up the extensive valleys of the Rio Grande 
and carrying a vast commerce to the sea at Aparri 
—the coming rival of Manila in commercial ex¬ 
pansion. 

So much has been said of the mountain tribes, 
that I translate from the “Gia Official,” published 
at Manila, a Spanish estimate of the more import¬ 
ant branches of these so-called aborigines: 


CROSSING THE CARABALLOS. 


73 


“The Ilongottes live in the mountains of the Si¬ 
erra Madre and Carrabello, between the provinces 
of Nueva Ecija, Principe, Isabela and Nueva Viz¬ 
caya. They have the fame of being the most cruel 
and warlike of all the archipelago, and are accused 
of being cannibals. They are generally tall and 
robust, with dark yellow skins, although there are 
many who present a more or less reddish shade. 
Their hair is abundant, black and plaited, the head 
large, the forehead vertical and wide, the eyes of 
an unquiet expression, the nose extended and the 
lips large. They are fond of adornment, but the 
most notable of their jewels is a collar or earrings 
which indicate the number of assassinations com¬ 
mitted. The most mountainous use only a cloth 
that passes between the thighs and winds over the 
waist. The more advanced and richer dress the 
same as those in the district of Principe, a blouse 
or shirt and trousers. The women wrap around 
their body a piece of cloth from the breast to the 
knees, but those of the principal families use a 
short petticoat and a kind of jacket or waist that 
is called a chimese. Men and women go always 
armed, though not within their own settlements or 
rancherias. They are traditional enemies of the 
Negritos, with whom they sustain continual fights, 
and also of the Christians, upon whom they make 


74 


THROUGH LUZON. 


war without quarter when they believe it possible 
with impunity. These individuals are very filthy 
and their habitations are adorned with the jaws of 
the wild boar, horns of the deer, and skulls of con¬ 
quered adversaries. It must not be forgotten in 
spite of the recognized ferocity of this race, some 
pueblos of the province of Nueva Vizcaya sustain 
a certain commerce that gives a base for hope of 
their reduction to civilization. 

Ifugaos. With this name is designated a large 
number of pueblos which take their denominations 
from the locality they inhabit. Their territory is 
comprised within Benguet, Lepanto, Bontoc, Isa¬ 
bela, and the Rio Magat. They have the reputa¬ 
tion of being cruel and ferocious and are often at 
war one rancheria with another, but above all are 
enemies of the mountainous Gaddanes of Isabela, 
which is no obsatcle to the Christian pueblos hav¬ 
ing often to lament the violence and murders of 
the Ifugaos. Some good qualities are, however, 
recognized; honor, loyalty and punctiliousness, but 
most of them are thieves and traitors. They are 
not such savages as is generally believed, but work 
with assiduousness in the fields with such instru¬ 
ments as they possess, and in various tribes idle¬ 
ness is viewed with scorn and contempt. Adorn¬ 
ment is usually of skulls and human bones, and 
when this is impossible, with those of animals. 


A TYPICAL, HOME IN THE COUNTRY. 










< 







































: 






























































































i 












CROSSING THE CARABALLOS. 


77 


Burik and Busaos. These form the principal 
group of pueblos, to which is given the name of 
Igorrotes of the Cordilleras. They are tall and 
robust, very well proportioned, of a gray skin, with 
black hair, cut short in front and left long at the 
back; eyes dark, expressive though some are in¬ 
clined. Large noses and mouths and not infre¬ 
quently a beard. The most notable adornment is 
being tattooed, and very artistically done by some 
individuals. Here appears for the first time the 
hatchet, called ligua, pertaining only to certain 
pueblos, an instrument known in the Visays and 
Mindanao, but never in the South of Luzon. In 
all the pueblos that use this arm they are terrible 
head-cutters and make their war-like expeditions 
to enrich themselves with skulls of their enemies. 
They never pardon offenses received, and each one 
of their chiefs keeps a minute account of the heads 
that have been taken by the neighboring ranch- 
erias, so that they can make reprisals. It is not 
believed, however, that all are so barbarous as is 
indicated by these customs. These pueblos have 
called attention to some of their industries and for 
the energy in the difficult agriculture of their wild 
territory, which can only produce certain articles, 
such as rice in places artificially watered. The ex¬ 
ploration of gold and copper, long before the dis- 
5 


7 » 


THROUGH LUZON. 


covery of the Island, has called for notice by the 
skillful manner of its extraction in the mountains. 
These people are monogamists, but obtain divorces 
easily and marry again. Among these tribes have 
been recognized small idols called Anitos, and rep¬ 
resent, coarsely, a human figure seated with the 
head between the hands and elbows on the knees. 

Tinguitoanes. The different groups which most 
especially bear this name, constitute a race which 
from time past had the distinction of calling for 
general attention. They occupy a large part of 
the province of Abra, the mountains of Union and 
both Ilocos. Those of Abra who can be consid¬ 
ered the most general type, are well formed, with 
rather light skin, and black, abundant hair. They 
adorn themselves with tattoo and blacken their 
teeth. It is very original the combing of the hair 
by the women. It is separated in front by a string 
of glass beads, tied on top, falling backward to one 
side. The men also wear their hair long, tied in 
rolls on the crown of the head. Other adornments 
are strings of glass beads placed around the fore¬ 
arm of young female infants and are never re¬ 
moved. When the child is grown the wrist is com¬ 
pletely deformed. They are good agriculturalists, 
but not fond of this class of work, in which wo¬ 
men take a large part. They raise chickens, hogs, 


CROSSING THE CARABALLOS. 


79 


horses, carabao and cattle. The woods of the for¬ 
ests are worked, cloth woven, and metals made into 
different articles. With these and other products 
some commerce is carried on. Matrimony is gen¬ 
erally contracted by parents while the parties to it 
are mere children. Though they are monogam¬ 
ists, divorces are both used and abused. Being 
docile and with a preference for peace, they yet 
also take pleasure in carrying the head of an enemy 
to their habitation. 

Apayaos. These occupy the mountains which 
separate the provinces of Ilocos and Cagayan, and 
a large territory of the latter. They are tall and 
robust, eyes often inclined, hair long and teeth 
painted black. Their arms, especially the hatchet 
and shield, are distinct, but what most calls for re¬ 
mark are the habitations, which are clean, with 
floors of sawn boards and decorated with China 
dishes. Upon the walls are arms of their forefa¬ 
thers placed in elegant rattan racks, and from these 
hang a small decanter of liquor or brandy, in honor 
of the memory of the deceased. They are good 
agriculturalists and have a small trade in the pro¬ 
ducts of the soil, most important of which is the 
fine quality of tobacco. They are also terrible head¬ 
hunters and celebrate their triumphs with grand 
feasts. 


8o 


THROUGH LUZON. 


Tagalos. This group is the most commonly 
named by many writers, who have generalized 
them as all Christian Malays of the Philippines. 
The true Tagalo inhabits the provinces of Bataan, 
Bulucan, Nueva Ecija, Morong, Laguna, Manila, 
Cavite, Batangas, Tayabas and the northern part 
of Mindoro. The Tagalo of Manila, who is most 
frequently described, constitutes some exception 
to others of the race on account of the friction and 
mixture with the more cultivated and heterogen- 
ious classes which live in the capital of the archipel¬ 
ago. 

In general the Tagalo is of medium stature and 
in color a light copper. The eyes are large and 
black, with pupil also large. The nose is wide 
and protruding; lips gross, teeth strong and no 
beard. The better classes dress a la Europea, and 
in cases where possible, wear fine jewelry. Those 
of the middle classes, the female part, have the 
same costume as previously described, a piece of 
cloth wrapped around the waist, falling to just be¬ 
low the knees. A white petticoat and blouse or 
chimese is also worn. The habitations are gener¬ 
ally one large room, built of bamboo and nipa with 
kitchen detached, and the floor raised above 
ground three or four feet to prevent dampness. 
The more well-to-do have houses built of hard 


CROSSING THE CARABALLOS. 


81 


wood, with roofs of corrugated iron and in many 
cases are luxuriously furnished in a European man¬ 
ner. 

In trade they are apt in all that requires natural 
ability. At hard work, at which they are occupied 
six or eight hours a day, they show no fatigue and 
are eager in accomplishing it. For some years 
many Tagalos have obtained academic degrees and 
in study show great memory. Their most com¬ 
mon food is vegetables, rice and fish, with occa¬ 
sionally fresh meat. 

Their character is soft and submissive to super¬ 
iors, but arrogant to inferiors. Astute, suspicious, 
hospitable, vain, of clear perception, with volatile 
passions, though very fond of gambling, dancing 
and all kinds of fiestas. 

Many other tribes are known, but their import¬ 
ance is not sufficient as to call for a specially de¬ 
tailed description. 


CHAPTER IV. 


THE VALLEY OF THE RIO MAGAT. 

T HE trail was hourly becoming better, with 
and our speed was greater and more sat- 
here and there stretches of a wagon road, 
isfactory. At one point the line was halted and a 
general hunt with shot guns and rifles was indulged 
in for ducks, which were flying in myriads over¬ 
head, but the grass and the cane were found too 
thick to penetrate even on horseback, to the ponds 
and the pursuit was abandoned. 

Just as the day was waning our hearts were glad¬ 
dened by the welcome sight of the evening sun 
sinking in the western sea, his horizontal rays fall¬ 
ing upon the village of Aritao, beautiful as a canvas 
by a master hand, silent and with wonted quiet¬ 
ness; lying snugly against the base of the hills, 
with the Rio Mizioli flowing gracefully at its front, 
presenting a picture of well-built houses of stone 
and brick, quite in contrast with the low nipa huts 
so common in the country passed through. 


82 


THE VALLEY OF THE RIO MAGAT. 


83 


The “Presidente Local,” an elderly man of pleas¬ 
ing manners, received us with kindlier hospitality, 
if possible, than any of the preceding representa¬ 
tives of Aguinaldo’s government. He led the way 
to the “convento,” an immense building not yet 
quite completed, but showing the great hewn tim¬ 
bers of heavy hard wood of which it was construct¬ 
ed, the boards used for partitions giving an idea of 
the infinite amount of labor required in cutting and 
shaping them by hand and in bringing out the ex¬ 
quisitely fine texture of the wood. One can not 
cease marveling at the fabulous wealth to be ex¬ 
tracted from these timber lands in the Philippines 
when once properly exploited in a commercial way. 
Especially is this true of the pine, which in districts 
adjacent to this province grows to colossal height 
and prodigious dimensions. 

It may be interesting to know that the public 
edifices were all built by those who paid tribute to 
the government and this, under Spanish rule, was 
exacted as follows: Each head of a family must pay 
annually fifteen pesetas, or $3.00, and in addition 
gave forty days' work a year upon the roads and 
buildings, or paid a fine of $3.00 for his absence 
or neglect to do so. The other tributos embraced 
all inhabitants over sixteen years and under sixty, 
who paid half tribute, to which the sum of 2 5 cents 
a year to be given to the church, was added. 


84 


THROUGH LUZON. 


The church building, an old, weather-beaten edi¬ 
fice, erected in the sixteenth century, adjoined the 
“convento,” and was occupied for a short time by 
the Filipino soldiers, but their superstitious fears 
that the saints might at night walk out of their 
wooden representations, deterred them from using 
it as a barracks. 

The Presidente and his official household—neat¬ 
ly dressed and intelligent looking “naturales,” as 
the Spaniards call them, were most assiduous in 
their attentions and supplied us with sweat meats, 
excellent coffee grown in the village, and great 
bunches of cigars. While we were at supper the 
local brass band gave us a serenade, and continued 
it long into the night. 

It appeared to me here, that the local govern¬ 
ment was fairly well organized and worked success¬ 
fully, and my entire party was carefully attended to 
by these representative men. In the early morn¬ 
ing the band reappeared and played some familiar 
waltz time pieces, and when we formed in line and 
continued our journey, they followed us for some 
distance out of town, the native soldiers firing their 
Remingtons as a parting salute, which, from mo¬ 
tives of prudence, I did not return, fearing all our 
ammunition might be required later on in dealing 
with the fearful Igorrotes, but who, I regret to 


the VALLEY OF THE RIO MAGAT. 85 

say, were not accommodating enough to furnish 
me with an opportunity for an encounter with 
them, as a study of a dead Igorrote would have 
been an interesting one. 

Through an almost impenetrable thicket the 
trail brought us to another river. The thoughtful¬ 
ness of the leading officials at Dupax had prompted 
him to send a number of natives with a chair to 
carry me across the stream, but the sturdy native 
pony I brought from Manila was equal to the oc¬ 
casion. 

Dupax is a newly built village containing two 
imposing edifices, the church and school house, 
and is the starting point of wide, level roads ex¬ 
tending for some miles beyond. The Presidente 
was ill and I made a personal call on him. I found 
him intelligent and agreeable, and his fine looking 
wife, pleasing in manner and very hospitable. 

After a short talk, the line was on a move for 
Bambang. The roads were wide and good, and on 
either side the fields were filled with women and 
girls standing ankle-deep in water, planting rice; 
separating the spears of the plants and putting 
them into the ground by hand. A large hill a few 
miles from the town retarded our progress not a 
little, but we were here met by a few natives on 
horseback sent out to lead the way. Soldiers on 


86 


THROUGH LUZON. 


horseback were stationed at the entrance to Bam- 
bang, who fired their rifles in our honor; the bells 
in the convents were rung and with banners flying 
we were escorted into the village. On reaching 
our stopping place and dismounting, Senor Aguin- 
aldo, a cousin of Don Emilio, the president of the 
republic, met us and threw his arms around me in 
the heartiest sort of welcome. He was a neat, 
bright, nervous young man in military dress; and, 
though short in stature, he appeared quite officer¬ 
like in all his bearings, with his silver mounted 
sword and revolver—captured Spanish trophies. 
Nothing remained for me but to accept his prof¬ 
fered kindness and remain there that night. It was 
a welcome rest for every member of the party, both 
man and beast. 

Senora Aguinaldo was presented, appearing in 
typical costume, and sweetly smiling her undoubt¬ 
ed delight at having us for her guest. In spite of 
a dark exterior, one can easily fathom a manifesta¬ 
tion of like or dislike on the face of a Filipino man 
or woman, and I do not remember having ever 
seen in the expression of the dark brown eyes of 
the female population other than the kindly suavi¬ 
ty of their gentle nature. Soon the village digni¬ 
taries made their call, mostly young men of inquir¬ 
ing minds and absorbing natures, one of whom, I 


THE VALLEY OF THE RIO MAGAT. 87 


learned, was a school teacher and a most interest¬ 
ing man. His chief aim and wish in life was to 
gain more knowledge, and he expressed a great 
desire to visit the United States. During the en¬ 
joyable dinner which was served, these young men 
plunged deeply into a fund of questions which they 
had evidently prepared for us, and I was greatly 
pleased with this opportunity of informing them 
of the advantages to be derived from a wider view 
of the outside world in general. But to combat 
the egoism and self-sufficiency of this younger ele¬ 
ment is no easy task. 

As the dinner drew to a close, cigars in abund¬ 
ance were furnished. The local orchestra sta¬ 
tioned in the hall, struck up a pleasing tune and the 
soothing strains were heard until long after mid¬ 
night. The Filipino would rather furnish music - 
than go to church, and is as handy with a violin as 
with a bolo. The beds to which we were shown 
were neat and clean and quite as good as those 
furnished by country hotels in the United States, 
so we rested well and comfortably, quite satisfied 
with this improvement over a tent and the bare 
ground. 

At ten o'clock the next morning, with bells ring¬ 
ing, fusilades of guns and an eager-looking popul¬ 
ace out in force to witness our departure, Senor 


88 


THROUGH LUZON. 


Aguinaldo, mounted on his handsome stallion, cov¬ 
ered with silver trappings, at the head of the pro¬ 
cession, led the way towards Bayombong, the cap¬ 
ital of the province of Nueva Vizcaya, several miles 
directly north. The roads were very good and 
the day was pleasant. As in other sections through 
which we had passed, on either side of the road, 
along the entire distance, were seen busy women 
and girls in the rice fields, working with apparent 
cheerfulness. 

The garrisons of the Spanish soldiers in the town 
throughout this portion of the island seemed to 
have all turned bandits. They robbed day and 
night, right and left, stealing all the valuable horses 
for their own use, killing the working animals— 
the caribao—burning villages where the popula¬ 
tion was too small to resist or unable to defend 
themselves, and destroying wherever possible all 
means of subsistence. The Filipino, though, is a 
resourceful being, and with only his bolo can re¬ 
tire into the forest, build for himself a shelter, and 
find sufficient food among the roots, leaves and 
herbs. Traps are made for all kinds of game— 
deer, wild boar, and caribao de los montanas. Fire 
is easily produced by rubbing together two pieces 
of bamboo. But the most serious thing they have 
to contend with is the scarcity of salt. During my 


THE VALLEY OF THE RIO MAGAT. 89 

trip I encountered the same difficulty, finding an 
insufficient supply of this most useful and necessary 
condiment in every town. 

In conversation with Senor Aguinaldo, who was 
riding along side of me, I found he was the owner 
of much of the land then being cultivated, he hav¬ 
ing married a native girl whose father was wealthy 
and who conveniently died shortly after the mar¬ 
riage ceremony. He, Senor Aguinaldo, was not 
much concerned about any form of government so 
long as he was permitted, without molestation, to 
pursue the tilling of the soil with his 150 male and 
female employees. 

Notice had been sent by courier to Bayombong 
of our approaching, and as we reached the Rio 
Magat, usually a roaring torrent at this season, and 
about two miles from the town, I observed on the 
opposite bank a party of men on horseback await¬ 
ing our arrival. Men, saddles, and equipments 
were quickly loaded into pancas or narrow boats, 
and the turbulent stream was crossed without acci¬ 
dent, but our horses were forced to swim, and it 
was with great concern that I saw some of them 
go under the water several times. But the natives 
handled them with admirable skill and landed them 
on terra firma without damage or loss. 


9 ° 


THROUGH LUZON. 


The “Presidente local,” a young, bright-looking 
fellow, and his assistant, waited only until Aguinal- 
do’s horse and my own animal had crossed the 
stream, and leaving the rest to follow us, we rode 
in a gallop into the town. The band played and 
the inhabitants turned out as we reined up and dis¬ 
mounted in front of the “Presidencia.” I was 
asked up-stairs into a large reception room, fol¬ 
lowed shortly by the provincial and local officials, 
who took seats and chairs arranged in two rows 
about five feet apart, while I was placed at the 
head of the company. I observed that the young 
Presidente had nothing to say, but an officer in the 
Filipino uniform soon made it plain to me that 
he was the most important individual among them. 
He was a stout, finely-built young man, with a 
severe countenance, wearing an expression which 
betokened suspicion. After speaking a few words 
to some of the others in a low tone, he said to me: 

“Have you a pass to visit this town?” 

“I have not,” I replied. 

“Who, then, has had the grace to invite you into 
this province?” he inquired. 

From his manner I regarded this question as 
tinged with more or less insolence, and with as 
much sarcasm as I could command in Spanish, I 
answered: 


THE VALLEY OF THE RIO MAGAT. 


9i 


"I don’t know.” And I might have added, “And 
I don’t care.” 

He began walking around the room, while I 
consumed the time in looking over the members 
of the Junta of the province. One very dark in¬ 
dividual, almost black, I afterwards discovered, 
was a member of the Filipino Congress. In a few 
moments this gentleman seated himself beside me 
and said he desired to know how I had got this far 
without interference. He then made some cut¬ 
ting remarks to Aguinaldo, who sat close by, for 
permitting us to pass through his village of Barn- 
bang. Immediately after this talk, Aguinaldo, 
who was to remain with me, disappeared, and re¬ 
traced his steps homeward in haste and in great 
fear of the consequences of this official’s displeas¬ 
ure. I then asked this man to await the arrival 
of my lieutenant, Sargent, whom, I informed him, 
had been to see Don Emilio Aguinaldo personally, 
at Malolos, and he would explain the matter, to 
which assent was given; but even this explanation 
was unsatisfactory, and as there was a telegraph 
line from this place to Aparri, where the colonel of 
this military zone was located, no time was lost in 
dispatching messages. 

Notwithstanding this unpleasantness we were 
served with a substantial dinner and invited for a 


92 


THROUGH LUZON. 


siesta to the home of Senor Ariola, a gentleman in 
every sense, well educated, a lawyer and the prin¬ 
cipal member of the Junta. Later in the after¬ 
noon we were called for chocolate and cakes, both 
most excellent and served in dainty china cups. 

As the sun was sinking low in the west I noticed 
seven priests, robed in white, taking a pasear in 
front of the cathedral, and as the vesper bell sound¬ 
ed, each one devoutly knelt and crossed himself, 
praying, no doubt, for freedom, for they were mili¬ 
tary prisoners in the hands of their own parishion¬ 
ers. It was said that these friars had a large quan¬ 
tity of guns and ammunition in their possession, 
which was captured by the insurgents, and for this 
reason they would be considered prisoners of war. 
I am quite sure they were being well treated and 
fed as well as could be under the condition then 
existing. It was not the church, per se, that the 
Fliipino opposed, but the individual who adminis¬ 
tered its rites, and I hesitate to believe as true the 
tales told me as to the cause of this antagonism on 
the part of the Filipinos for these now helpless and 
imprisoned representatives of the Church Univer¬ 
sal. 





A NEGRITO 















CHAPTER V. 


FROM BAYOMBONG TO CARIG. 

B AYOMBONG is an attractive place of con¬ 
siderable dimensions. Its houses are sub¬ 
stantially built of brick and stone, and its streets, 
though in some places overgrown with rank grass, 
are wide and clean. The surrounding country is 
fair to look upon, and only needs to be “tickled 
with the hoe to laugh with the harvest/’ Some¬ 
thing inspiring must be infused into the native 
mind to arouse them to effort. As a rule they love 
fine clothes, comfortable houses and handsome 
decorations in gold and silver; but heretofore they 
had been ingeniously relieved of the most of the 
fruits of their labor and toil, without reward, for 
the maintenance of others in luxurious idleness. 
Inevitably this would result in discontent and breed 
habits of slovenly indolence. Had the money of 
which they had been despoiled through excessive 
taxation been expended in building up and devel¬ 
oping the resources of the country, and had the 


6 


95 


96 


THROUGH LUZON. 


benefits of this industrial expansion been given to 
those to whom it properly belonged, it would have 
furnished an incentive for the application of native 
talent, which could not have resulted otherwise 
than in producing a race of manly, loyal, self-re¬ 
specting citizens. 

Senor Ariola was one of the finest type of the 
Filipino man whom I had ever had the pleasure of 
meeting. His house was well furnished; he had a 
good library of rare books; a sala or drawing room, 
decorated with artistic taste; stained glass parti¬ 
tions throughout the hall, and a dining room sup¬ 
plied with choice linen and the best of china. The 
garden was filled with beautiful flowers and the 
walks lined with coffee and cocoa trees in bearing. 
A Jersey cow furnished the family with cream, and 
the whole aspect of the surroundings bespoke com¬ 
fort and happiness. Senora Ariola was unceasing 
in her attentions, and, while not seating herself 
with us at the table, stood near to direct the serv¬ 
ants in waiting. The viands were all of the best, 
properly cooked and elegantly served, and we ate 
the first wheat bread we had tasted since leaving 
Manila. The coffee from the fields owned by our 
host was most delicious, especially with cream, and 
his sherry and port wines revealed their age and 
choice vintage. Cigars in these parts are always 
plentiful and of fine quality. 


FROM BAYOMBONG TO CARIG. 


97 


Upon retiring to the Sala we found some mem¬ 
bers of the local government awaiting us, among 
whom was the telegraph operator, who informed 
me that no reply had been received to the message 
sent to Colonel Tirano. This Filipino was consid¬ 
ered a competent operator, but he complained bit¬ 
terly of the manner in which he was being paid for 
his services under the Spanish regime. He was 
then receiving seventy-five Mexican dollars a 
month, he said, while the Spanish official desig¬ 
nated to oversee this work commanded $150 for 
the same period. It was so in all other official em¬ 
ployment. As an instance: A shoemaker who 
could scarcely read or write—for political reasons 
—was assigned to and had charge of a post at a 
large salary, while the Filipino under him, who did 
all the work, was paid but a trifle in comparison. 
It is amazing to see how well these natives can 
read and write when their limited opportunities for 
learning are considered. Large numbers of them 
have at one time or other been attached to some 
official post, so that, when their oppressors were 
overthrown, they were prepared to supplant them 
in office, and in many instances they conducted the 
affairs of state with a greater degree of efficiency 
than was displayed by their Spanish predecessors. 


9 8 


THROUGH LUZON. 


I informed Senor Ariola that I was most anxious 
to proceed on my journey the following morning, 
and called his attention to the fact that until the 
present instance I had met with no interference be¬ 
cause of my failure to procure a pass. I also told 
him that such a condition was unknown in the 
United States, and foreigners were free to go and 
come at will and if I were delayed I must consider 
it a serious commentary upon his form of govern¬ 
ment, which I would very much regret to be 
obliged to do. There was no war existing and 
none in contemplation; and he promised his best 
efforts for our early departure. 

The conversation continued until nearly mid¬ 
night, when chocolate and wine were served in the 
dining room. The lieutenant of our escort entered 
the room and joined us, and before he was aware of 
it we had inveigled him into a very modest descrip¬ 
tion of his attack and capture of the Spanish garri¬ 
son at San Isidro, the capital of the province of 
Nueva Ecija. His face was badly scarred, show¬ 
ing personal encounter with his antagonists. The 
manner in which the capture of so large a body of 
well-armed Spaniards was accomplished was well- 
nigh incredible, but his candor and ingenuous man¬ 
ner impressed me deeply. A party consisting of 
only nine insurgents had posted themselves around 


FROM BAYOMBONG TO CARIG. 99 

the fortifications of San Isidro, and during the 
whole night kept up an incessant fire upon the 
enemy from their different locations, creating the 
impression among the Spaniards that they were 
being attacked in great force. The frightened 
garrison and the guardia civil—the native soldiers 
attached thereto—hastily retired behind the walls 
of the fort for safety. In the early morning the 
besiegers were reinforced, and with flourishing 
“bolos” and wild yells they attacked the fort, re¬ 
ceiving assistance from some of the natives within. 
The Spaniards, almost paralyzed with fear, stam¬ 
peded and then surrendered, and a large quantity 
of guns, small arms and ammunition were secured 
by the insurgents. Many feats of daring were re¬ 
counted, in which I was so absorbed as to be¬ 
come oblivious to the flight of time until the strik¬ 
ing of two o’clock recalled me to the present and 
reminded me that I should have been abed hours 
before. 

The military official who had shown such ill- 
feeling the day before, appeared early the next 
morning, and his aspect had completely changed, 
for we had obtained permission to continue our 
journey. With him was the governor of the prov¬ 
ince, Senor Sebastian Panganiban, an elderly man 
of fine appearance, who was to accompany us a 


loo THROUGH LUZON. 

few miles to his home, Solano. The train was soon 
formed in line, and with expressions of thanks to 
our host we moved out of Bayombong with kind¬ 
est wishes, our entertainment by Senor Ariola hav¬ 
ing overcome any feeling of resentment for the 
other members of the Junta. As I passed around 
his house I saw the wife of Senor Ariola leaning 
out of the window, to whom I said, lifting my 
slouch hat: “Adios, Senora,” to which, with a 
cheerful smile she replied, “Adios.” 

Very good roads were encountered most of the 
way to Solano. The governor general drove in 
his quiles, a rather pretentious sort of a carriage, 
and led the way to his home, where he halted long 
enough to introduce me to his wife and family, 
who insisted upon our remaining to lunch; but I 
was forced to decline in order to reach Bagabag 
that night. 

The governor filled our pockets with some good 
cigars and offered us some good gin, which is the 
only foreign liquor found in the provinces. He 
had quite a number of Igorrotes, mansos, male 
and female, threshing rice on the lower floor of his 
building. These people were interesting from an 
ethnological point of view, even though they gave 
no evidence of fierceness. The governor general 
said they were docile and submissive, good work- 


FROM BAYOMBONG TO CARIG. 


ioi 


ers and harmless. But I noticed that disease had 
already attacked them and of such a nature that 
their destruction sooner or later was certain. An 
incident which shows the means adopted by the 
Spanish officials to mislead the people at home, 
was the capture of a band of Igorrotes and the 
exhibition at Barcelona, Spain, as specimens of the 
class of people inhabiting these regions, and which 
produced serious resentment in the minds of the 
Tagalos and the intelligent people of Manila. 

The country lying between Solano and Bagabag 
was an undulating, fertile stretch of about eight 
miles, but our speed was rendered slow by cane 
brakes and thickets. The road defiled, crossing 
small streams with steep banks which were most 
difficult of ascent, the horses being unable to gain 
a foothold preparatory to making a climb. One of 
our old bagadores, finding himself separated from 
the others, raised such a howl, the live chickens 
which he carried across his shoulders adding to the 
wail, that I thought horses, men and outfit had 
been lost in the river. With the corporal of the 
guard I turned back, crossed the river again and 
waited until the old man emerged from the brush. 
The corporal was so angry that he jabbed his bayo¬ 
net into the man’s stomach, but not to a sufficient 
depth to cause a serious wound. 


102 


THROUGH LUZON. 


Late in the afternoon of October 22, we filed in¬ 
to Bagabag and were met by the leading official., 
who escorted us to his domicile. Here was com¬ 
fort enough for two weary Americans who had be¬ 
come inured to travel through hedges and hills 
and water ways through Northern Luzon. 

The customary good dinner was prepared, chick¬ 
ens, morisquita bread and some rare wine. Later 
we were asked to listen to the rendition of some 
music at the home of a prominent resident of the 
village, and to indulge in a baile. I was not bent 
on dancing in my wet shoes, but nevertheless ac¬ 
cepted the invitation, and was well repaid. A fine 
piano stood in the sala, and seated about the room 
were about a dozen of the handsomest senoritas of 
the place, who, with their embroidered pina 
dresses, and graceful manners, added to the beauty 
of the scene. I was delighted and surprised to 
find so many accomplished performers among the 
young women in this remote locality, and won¬ 
dered at seeing a piano that must have been car¬ 
ried over mountain chains in reaching here. It 
but proves the great interest the Filipino takes in 
music. The usual apologies were offered for not 
having better means of entertainment in food, 
but this was always responded to by our say¬ 
ing we were glad, indeed, to fare so well, which was 
true. i _ _ -.1 


FROM BAYOMBONG TO CARIG. 


103 


In discussing our trip for the following day, I 
was told that only a few days previously a woman 
had been murdered by the Igorrotes, and, that dur¬ 
ing the last few weeks fully twenty persons had 
met death along this trail—the hot-bed of the sav¬ 
ages of this district. With fear for our safety, 
these men considered it unwise to run the risk, but 
Sargent invited rather than shirked the dangers, 
and his courage inspired the officials into making 
preparations that would frustrate any attempt of 
the Igorrotes to attack us. A party of soldiers was 
gathered together, and many native followers 
joined our expedition to assist in our protection. 

The Rio Magat was very much swollen, but had 
to be crossed a short distance from the starting 
point. This was done on bancas made of bamboo 
poles lashed together in a large bundle—a shaky, 
treacherous contrivance, which the least motion to 
one side or the other would overturn and plunge 
the passengers into the water, and perhaps furnish 
a meal for the numerous alligators. When this 
stream had been crossed in safety our line was 
formed, with ourselves and soldiers in front and 
the loaded animals in the rear, and a start made 
over a very indistinct trail, along which the Igor¬ 
rotes were supposed to be in hiding, but by dis¬ 
charging our guns into the clumps of bushes and 


104 


THROUGH LUZON. 


long grass, we either intimidated them or they 
were elsewheres. Always on the lookout we pur¬ 
sued our way to Diadi, an estacamento on the hills, 
where a company of Filipino soldiers was stationed 
to guard the roads, and here a halt was made for 
lunch. This outpost commanded a view of the 
surrounding country, which was one of exquisite 
grandeur. Green plains were seen to stretch for 
miles to the north, irregularly divided by winding 
streams. Densely wooded mountains seem to rest 
against the sky, and only the curling smoke of 
Igorrote rancherias betrayed the fact that human 
life had ever disturbed the quietness of this garden 
spot in the valley of Rio Grande. 

While traversing this attractive country, which 
offers so much to tempt the husbandman, we met 
with no sign of life until nearing the village of Cor¬ 
don, where could be seen native hunters after deer 
and caribao de los mountanas. This latter animal 
furnishes a fine quality of meat and has a peculiar, 
instinctive trait in being the only denizen of the 
forest that can protect itself against the boa con- 
srictors which are somewhat numerous in these 
parts. When the caribao is pounced upon by a 
boa and the reptile has wrapped itself around the 
body for the squeezing process of killing the ani¬ 
mal, the caribao slowly draws in its sides until the 


FROM BAYOMBONG TO CARIG. 105 

boa has his grip fixed securely and begins to tight¬ 
en up, when suddenly the caribao inflates his lungs 
to their fullest, spreads his sides, tearing the verte¬ 
brae of the reptile into a thousand pieces. 

We reached Cordon in the late afternoon, the 
trail having improved. There had been no rain 
and just clouds enough to shield the sun, which is 
a great boon to the traveler in a tropical zone. I 
was given good accommodation for men and 
horses and brought face to face with the fact that 
much goodness of heart is often found in the wilds 
of Luzon. The village was ransacked for the best 
of food, and the cooking of it was well done. No¬ 
tice was sent out by our entertainers to local talent 
to be present and furnish amusement for us after 
the dinner. Four young girls, gaily attired, ap¬ 
peared with their castanets to dance and sing for 
the Americans, which they did with grace and with 
cultivated step. Of course it was a Spanish cus¬ 
tom, but one would not expect to find such appar¬ 
ently well trained bailarinas in the remote fast¬ 
nesses of an undeveloped country. How willing 
they were to sing and dance for our pleasure was 
shown by their continuing to do so until a regard 
for their weariness made further demand unkind. 

Our progress so far had been made without ser¬ 
ious obstruction of any kind, and it appeared as 


THROUGH LUZON. 


106 

though we would accomplish our aim with less dis¬ 
comfort and opposition than even the most san¬ 
guine had considered possible. Conditions changed 
however, on the following day. With the morn¬ 
ing came a drizzling rain, but there was no post¬ 
ponement of our journey on account of the weath¬ 
er, for we were beginning to feel quite at home 
with water over, under and around us, and shortly 
after an early start, we passed through the village 
of Carig to the river, crossing that easily and find¬ 
ing a fairly good road. Our baggage had been 
loaded on two-wheeled carts drawn by caribao, and 
sent on an hour ahead. A short distance away, 
on the opposite side of the river, we observed two 
military men riding at full speed, and as they ap¬ 
proached they commanded us to halt. The spokes¬ 
man was Simon A. Villa, Commandante Militar of 
the zone of the province of Isabela, and his com¬ 
panion, B. Ventura Guzam, lieutenant and aid to 
the former. They had ridden night and day from 
Hagan in order to intercept, and turn us back to 
Carig. The first question asked was about passes, 
and our explanation being unsatisfactory, Senor 
Villa said he had orders from Colonel Tirano, the 
commander of Northern Luzon, to stop us at Carig 
where communication would be opened with 
Aguinaldo to ascertain if we should be allowed to 


FROM BAYOMBONG TO CARIG. 


107 


proceed. I requested permission to send the carts 
ahead to Echague that night, there to await us; 
but in spite of all our reasoning Villa remained in¬ 
flexible and denied us even this small favor, so we 
had no alternative but to retrace our steps, dis¬ 
gusted and filled to overflowing with wrath, sam¬ 
ples of which were indiscriminately showered upon 
these two officers without fear, favor or hope of 
liberty. It was now a question of diplomacy as to 
whether we should endure the humilation of turn¬ 
ing our backs upon our fondest hopes and again 
crossing the Carabello mountains, or proceed 
along the route we had mapped out. Our feelings 
towards Senor Villa were not of the most pleasant 
kind, and these must be overcome, as he had the 
power to do with us as suited his whim or fancy. 
He was domineering almost to brutality to his own 
people, but extended to us all the comfort possible 
in the way of food, and settled us in the convento, 
where, practically under arrest, we were to remain 
for many days. 

The convento was a large, well-built structure, 
having good bed rooms and a dining room. The 
library contained all the records of the parish, be¬ 
sides many old and valuable books that no doubt 
had afforded the padre many pleasant hours of pro¬ 
fitable occupation. I looked these through during 


THROUGH LUZON. 


108 

the first few days, and now regret that I did not 
bring some of them with me, which were offered, 
but which I declined on account of their additional 
weight to our baggage. 

Carig was a telegraph station which Senor Villa 
used to communicate with Colonel Tirano at Apar- 
ri. The first two days were spent quietly awaiting 
an answer, but none coming, I induced Don Tom¬ 
as to interview the telegraphista and find out how 
Colonel Tirano would reach Aguinaldo, then at 
San Fernando. He came back with the information 
that a message would be sent to Bayombong and 
from there across the mountains by courier to 
Dagupan, thence by wire to San Fernando, and we 
could expect a reply in about three days. This I 
knew to be impossible; it was but a malicious sub¬ 
terfuge to deceive us. Sargent by this time was 
becoming impatient, and I feared his anxiety to 
proceed would endanger the great object I had in 
view, and urged him to control his feelings for a 
few days more, assuring him that we must event¬ 
ually succeed, at all hazards, in accomplishing the 
undertaking. The next day, after much persua¬ 
sion, Villa consented to our telegraphing to Col. 
Tirano, at our own expense, for permission to pro¬ 
ceed as far as Ilagan and await a reply from Aguin¬ 
aldo there. During these days of waiting, I was 


FROM BAYOMBONG TO CARIG. 


109 


shown a message from Colonel Tirano to Villa, 
saying that he had just received twenty thousand 
stand of arms and ammunition, and would send 
two thousand of them to Carig. 

To the credit of Villa and Guzman I must say 
they did all things possible to make our detention 
agreeable. The day preceding our final departure 
a wild boar hunt in the near-by hills was planned, 
Villa giving command to all villagers to assemble 
with horses, dogs and spears, and to act as beaters 
for the hunt. It was a fine array that gathered 
around the convento in the early morning; some 
fifteen men on horseback, each having a pack of 
five hounds and carrying spears ten feet long, 
made of bamboo poles, ironed at both ends, one of 
which was for the purpose of holding it upright 
by sticking it into the ground. I was delighted 
with their appearance and more than pleased with 
the prospect of bringing to death the ferocious 
boar. There were also caribao de las montanas 
and deer in the woods, any of which offered sport 
enough to make us forget that we were held in 
bondage. The path to the hills took us over a 
wide expanse of open grassy country, at that time 
covered as with a blanket of myriads of locusts. It 
was nearly noon before the men had posted us in 
good locations at the opening of a ravine close to 


IIO 


THROUGH LUZON. 


the base of the mountains, in order to sight the 
big game driven out by the hounds. The sun was 
beaming in brilliancy, but what did it matter to 
one keenly waiting for the first sight of a boar— 
wild, fierce-eyed, white tusked—surprised and be¬ 
wildered at seeing his mortal enemy, man, as he 
rushed from the forest? 

Presently the welcome and thrilling howl of doz¬ 
ens of hounds in the distant woods came nearer 
and nearer, my nerves stringing up tighter and 
tighter with every second until I fancied I would 
soon become helpless in my defense against the 
boar’s attack. As I peered intently at the spot 
from which I expected would emerge this grand 
stampede, I took up my Winchester, summoning 
all the reserve courage in my power for a fatal shot, 
when there suddenly came into full view, not a 
boar, but a deer. Filled with disgust, I fired at 
four hundred yards’ distance, but failed to bag my 
game. 

Hours were passed with only now and then a 
deer in sight, and getting weary of this we set off 
for camp, to be on hand early on the following 
morning. But Senor Villa had by this time be¬ 
come so displeased with the food we had been eat¬ 
ing while on the road and so disgusted at the poor 
prospect of obtaining fresh game, that we pulled 



A SPANISH MESTIZA. 
(Half Spanish Half Native.) 













FROM BAYOMBONG TO CARIG. 


i *3 


up stakes and returned to town. Later the men 
whom we left behind brought in two young boar, 
which they had speared, and these furnished us 
with that delicious meat for the remainder of our 
stay at Carig. A pleasant greeting was awaiting 
our return in the following telegram from Colonel 
Tirano: 

‘Telegram. 

“A Sres. Wilcox, Sargent, Carig. 

“Carig de Isabela Num. 254. Palabras 18 Depos- 
itada el 30 Octe, 1898, a las 9.30 m. 

“Coronel: 

“Recibi telegrama. Saludadoles carinosamente. 
Autorized Sr. Villa acompana a ustedes bajada Ila- 
gan. 

“Recibide de Ilagan dia 31, a las 11.57 m * El. 
Official.” 

“I salute you affectionately, and authorize Villa 
to accompany you down to Hagan.” 

After seven days’ detention at Carig I was more 
than gratified at the prospect of our release, and 
entered with enthusiasm into the preparation for 
continuing on to Ilagan, our men expressing the 
same degree of satisfaction. The river at Carig 
had been rising for the past few days, making it im¬ 
possible to cross except on balsas. On these rafts 
our saddles and other equipments were ferried 
7 


THROUGH LUZON. 


114 

over, the horses being compelled to swim. One 
of the soldiers of the escort had the temerity to 
try his horse with the saddle on, and when half 
way across the beast went under and disappeared 
in the swirling current, the soldier escaping by 
reaching shallow: water. The natives avowed the 
loss of the horse was due to alligators. 

The country lying between Carig and Echagtte 
was most difficult to traverse, being very low, with 
numerous mires and deep, sticky mud. I rode 
alongside of Villa most of the day, his conversation 
relating mainly to his experiences in the revolution 
against the Spaniards. His father was a promi¬ 
nent Tagalo in Manila, possessed of much property 
and a large account in the Hong Kong & Shang¬ 
hai Bank. The Spanish authorities had thrown 
him into prison as a conspirator, where he re¬ 
mained for some time. At last he was offered lib¬ 
erty on condition that he sign a check for the full 
amount of his credit at the bank. This check was 
drawn out and endorsed by the unhappy prisoner, 
but instead of granting him his freedom he was 
shot within the walls of old Manila and his entire 
property confiscated. Villa told me his mother 
and sister were in Manila, but just where he did 
not know, nor how they were faring. I promised 
to hunt them up on my return and report to him, 


FROM BAYOMBONG TO CARIG. 115 

but he said it was useless, as no letter would be 
likely to ever reach him. After a most fatiguing 
journey we reached the abode of the military com¬ 
mander at Echague, who was very courteous and 
hospitable, and had already made arrangements for 
boats to carry us down the Rio Grande river—the 
turbulent, treacherous but magnificent waterway 
that drains the entire valley of the northern and 
eastern half of the Island of Luzon. 

Echague is one of the great tobacco depots of 
the province of Isabela, and several German mer¬ 
chants who reside there, purchase the leaf for the 
European market. This plant thrives well in the 
soil about here, and better and more stable politi¬ 
cal conditions, which are certain to come, will dis¬ 
pel the timidity of capital and enormously increase 
its production. What possibilities there are for 
this veritable Eden of Luzon can hardly be imag¬ 
ined. Sufficient people are here to treble the pro¬ 
duction, and they will be found to be industrious 
enough when equitable taxation is restored and 
encouragement given them to toil. 

Our thoughtful host, for the trip down the river, 
provided us with boiled chicken, put up in green 
palm leaves, and boiled rice and venison enclosed 
in the same fresh covering. We had six oarsmen 
and a helmsman to keep the panca out of whirl- 


n6 


THROUGH LUZON. 


pools, and thus equipped the boat shoved into the 
current. I sent our servants and horses over land 
and they continued along the banks of the Rio 
Grande until we reached the sea at Aparri, 120 
miles to the north. 

The Rio Grande de Cagayan, for over 200 miles 
is available for native boats in carrying traffic to 
the seaport of Aparri, and while it requires but 
four days to navigate its entire length down stream 
weeks are consumed in returning against the rapid 
flow of water. 

Fortunately the day was a bright one, filling the 
passing scenes with interest. Here and there were 
alligators stretched out upon the banks, at which 
we frequently shot with our rifles. Monkeys with¬ 
out number infested the trees, disporting them¬ 
selves as only monkeys can, assuming many 
amusing attitudes and performing numerous high¬ 
ly creditable acrobatic feats. Many fishermen had 
their nets out, and thousands of women were wash¬ 
ing clothes and bathing in the discolored waters. 
At times the river widened to a great expanse, 
then, closing in at a narrow gap, the immense body 
of water forced its way with such speed that we 
were literally lifted up and shot through the chan¬ 
nel as though fired from a ten-inch gun. 


FROM BAYOMBONG TO CARIG. 117 

Only by the most dexterous handling of our 
craft did we escape wreck and certain death in 
these most perilous moments. Once we were on 
the point of drifting into a whirlpool, when Villa 
commanded the oarsmen to pull for our dear lives 
and their own, directing their movements in a 
manner which proved his skill and ability in hand¬ 
ling one of these boats was at least equal to that of 
the Filipino boatmen themselves. The excite¬ 
ment attending the passage of this waterway filled 
me at times with pleasure and fear, and I congrat¬ 
ulated our party upon reaching Hagan in the early 
evening without mishap. 


CHAPTER VI. 


ILAGAN—THE CAPITAL OF ISABELA. 

O UR arrival at the capital of the province of 
Isabela was welcomed by manifestations of 
the warmest hospitality. Ilagan for the time 
being was the home of both Villa and Guzman, but 
we were taken to the house of Senor Casarola, the 
acting Presidente Local, and a man of considerable 
wealth. 

The principal officials of the town made calls and 
appeared happy to meet us and were followed later 
on by many of the wives of these men, accompan¬ 
ied by Senorita Casarola, all finely dressed in 
gowns of silk and pina that would have excited the 
envy of many of the women of our own country. 
Senorita Casarola played on the piano for us, and 
the Filipino national hymn was sung by a small 
boy, the whole company joining in the refrain. 

Villa being now on his own stamping ground, 
wished to make amends for our reluctant and tire¬ 
some detention at Carig by providing several fies- 

118 


ILAGAN—THE CAPITAL OF ISABELA. 


i9 


tas during our stay, which offered many possibili¬ 
ties. The first was a bade, in the evening, and he 
had his men spread the news among the social set 
and ordered the local band to produce its choicest 
selections. The hall used was the convento, the 
floor of which was very good, and all the rooms 
were decorated with palms and bamboo in Filipino 
festive manner. An unusually good dinner pre¬ 
ceded the dance, and on being escorted to the hall 
we found it well filled with attractively dressed 
women in silks and pina, and with men noticeably 
well attired in low-cut black coats, white linen 
shirts, collars and ties, some of them wearing pat¬ 
ent leather shoes. During the introductions I felt 
a serious regret at not having my dress suit with 
me, to be more in keeping with my surroundings. 

In the opening dance I had the honor of being 
the partner of Senorita Casarola, the daughter of 
our host and the belle of the ball. Her waltzing 
was exquisite, for which I complimented her. I 
was critical enough to notice her costume of pink 
silk, with a long train embroidered in flowers, a 
waist of most delicate pina, and white kid slippers 
and gloves, the whole tastefully decorated with 
large and beautiful diamonds. Several of the oth¬ 
er women presented an appearance that elicited 
my admiration when I considered that this locality 


120 


THROUGH LUZON. 


was deep in the interior of a country where such 
taste and culture was supposed to be unknown. 
The rigodon, lancers and waltz followed in quick 
succession until twelve o’clock, when supper was 
spread. All the young women, some fifty in num¬ 
ber, were seated at one long table, I being per¬ 
suaded to preside at the head as a mark of especial 
favor. The meal did not differ much from those 
usually served on such occasions, and the table 
furnishings were in good form and proper in every 
respect. The conversation proceeded in a light 
and happy vein, and I noticed a degree of reserve 
and modesty among these young women that man¬ 
ifested a truly noble feminimity. The intermission 
during supper was a long one, in order to allow 
the male portion of the assembly sufficient time to 
fill themselves with the good things on the table, 
after which the dance was resumed. Some exhibi¬ 
tions of native dancing were given, the movements 
displaying grace and long practice. One of the 
company, a woman with two pretty young daugh¬ 
ters, almost white, was pointed out to me as the 
wife of a Spanish officer who had been on duty in 
Hagan, but who had abandoned them and left for 
Spain. This was given to me with great contempt 
and disgust for Spaniards in general in Luzon. At 
three o’clock in the morning the ball came to an 


I LAGAN—THE CAPITAL OF ISABELA. 121 


end and we returned to our host filled with pleas¬ 
ant thoughts of the entertainment. 

Ilagan is possessed of much wealth, due almost 
exclusively to its tobacco interests, some three mil¬ 
lion of dollars being annually paid for the product. 
The evidence of the good use of this money is 
shown in the many fine buildings and merchant 
shops, among which are many Chinese establish¬ 
ments. The farther north one travels in Luzon, 
the better the class of natives becomes, and the 
lighter their color. The buildings also show a 
marked improvement; with roofs of corrugated 
iron and either brick or stone walls. Among the 
residents of Ilagan was a German who claimed 
American citizenship at one time and German at 
another, to suit his convenience, but he never pre¬ 
sented himself to us nor did we hunt him up. He 
was said to be the only English-speaking man in 
the town. The next morning gave us an oppor¬ 
tunity of walking about the streets of the town and 
visiting some of the Chinese shops, where small 
purchases were made. 

Ilagan is situated on an Island, the only ap¬ 
proach being by boat. The natives encountered 
but feeble resistance from the Spanish garrison at 
the time of its capture, and consider themselves 
secure from other sources of danger. From the 


122 


THROUGH LUZON. 


window of our abode we saw companies of small 
boys drilling with wooden guns, full of enthusiasm 
for war, but with whom they did not then know. 
The officer in charge was diligent and exacting and 
encouraged the boys to their utmost capacity. 

Another sight which I watched with a selfish in¬ 
terest was the cooking of a young jabali for dinner. 
The burning and sizzling of this fine animal on the 
spit whetted my appetite to a keen edge, and as 
the color gradually assumed a tempting brown hue 
and the savory fumes reached my nostrils, I knew 
it would be good. 

Senor Casarola had three cooks—a Chinaman, a 
Spaniard, and a native. Between them the dishes 
prepared were complete in every detail. At every 
meal during our stay twelve men sat down, includ¬ 
ing a native and Spanish priest, the two Guzmans, 
Villa and ourselves. Apologies from the host for 
not furnishing something better are always in or- 
-der, but on this occasion, with wild boar meat, ven¬ 
ison, beef, bread, potatoes, chocolate and coffee, 
and canned goods in profusion before me, I could 
not discover the necessity for such regrets. 

For the evening a play at the theatre was ar¬ 
ranged, to which we had to be conducted by a 
body guard, as it had been rumored that some of 
the Spanish prisoners had planned to kill us. The 


ILAGAN—THE CAPITAL OF ISABELA. 123 

guard was posted at the entrance to the building 
while the drama was being produced within. It 
was in Spanish and was put upon the stage with all 
the required costumes, the band interspersing 
music at proper points. The play was commencla- 
bly acted, Senorita Casarola taking the leading 
role. This particular play had been rendered at a 
fiesta some days previously, and was repeated for 
our especial delight. The alleged assassins failed 
to carry out their designs. 

The next day was clear but hot, and Villa asked 
me if I would object to having some of their pris¬ 
oners paraded in front of our quarters. I was in¬ 
deed desirous of seeing them and noting their con¬ 
dition. An orderly was sent to march out the 
eighty-four Spanish priests who formed a part of 
them. As they were lined up on the public high¬ 
way, the appearance of these men, of all ages from 
seventy down to thirty, invoked my sympathy. 
Shorn of power, neglected as to dress and unshav¬ 
en, they stood before us mute and dejected look¬ 
ing, with prayer books in hand—submissive mar¬ 
tyrs to their faith. Each had shortly before, in his 
own parish, been the supreme master, never 
dreaming of such a transformation as had so 
abruptly taken place. Was it retribution, or the 
mysterious workings of the inscrutible Almighty? 


124 


THROUGH LUZOjn. 


The sun was intensely fierce, but it seemed to 
shine with softened rays upon these silent, devoted 
creatures, appearing to create the apotheosis of a 
spiritual man in the depths of despair. Villa 
pointed to one of the prisoners and gave orders to 
have him brought up to our room. He was not a 
particularly prepossessing man, and he stood be¬ 
fore us, charged by Villa with offenses that 
seemed incredible. 

I suggested to Villa the propriety of returning 
these men to their quarters, which he did, and after 
they had gone, he ordered brought in the former 
Spanish governor of the province, Don Jose Perez, 
also a prisoner. I shook hands with him (which 
Sargent would not do), and made inquiries as to 
the causes leading up to the revolution, which, for 
lack of a better reason, he ascribed to the Chinese. 

Villa said: “This is the man who robbed this 
province of $25,000 during the last year of his of¬ 
fice.” This the ex-governor denied. 

I then said to him: “You are the man who had 
planned to kill us last night, are you not?” 

I had hoped he would confirm my surmise in 
order that I could suggest the expediency of his 
going into the camp with us, selecting his own 
weapons and meeting either Sargent or myself 
fairly. I knew Sargent was quite handy with the 


ILAGAN—THE CAPITAL OF ISABELA. u$ 

/ 

sword, while with any other weapon I would stand 
a fair show, so that in any selection he might make 
we had him cornered. But he was a coward and 
declined to take the hint and his sinister eyes 
showed that he was at his best when stabbing some 
one from the rear in the dark. 

These prisoners were a great expense upon the 
people of the province. I was told that it cost 
$2,000 a month to feed them alone, and, so far as 
I could judge, I believe they were well provided 
for. 

The native language of Ilagan is mostly the 
Ibanag dialect, and the wife of our host could only 
converse in that tongue, although Don Tomas 
was able to make himself understood in Tagalog. 
A large majority of the population of the northern 
provinces have a local dialect peculiar to the dis¬ 
trict in which they live, due to the lack of frequent 
intermingling and proper communications be¬ 
tween the towns. 

We desired to continue our journey from Ilagan 
to Tuguegarao and from that point across the 
mountains to the western coast. This request was 
wired by Senor Villa to Colonel Tirona at Aparri, 
in anticipation that he would provide us with a 
large military escort. That officer replied that it 
would not be possible to make the proposed trip 


126 


THROUGH LUZON. 


at this season of the year. He invited us to pro¬ 
ceed to Aparri, saying that he would send a steam 
launch up the river to take us to that city. We 
replied by another telegram, repeating our request 
and saying that the trip across the mountains 
would be made at our own risk. The reply was a 
courteously worded but positive refusal. The col¬ 
onel had sent our messengers to examine the roads 
and they reported them impassable. Moreover, 
there was a danger from Igorrotes, five million of 
whom were commonly supposed to inhabit that 
locality. He said that he felt himself responsible 
for our safety in the district over which he held 
command. He feared any accident happening to 
our party might be misconstrued by our Govern¬ 
ment and create a wrong and injurious impression 
of the good faith of the Philippines and the tran¬ 
quility of the country. He repeated his invitation 
to visit Aparri, take a steamer from that port, dis¬ 
embark at a northern point on the western coast, 
and continue our journey south by land. This ar¬ 
rangement was accepted as the most satisfactory 
one left open to us. 

Our horses arrived at Ilagan November 2d, and 
were sent on the Aparri next day. The steam 
launch mentioned by the colonel not arriving on 
time, we expressed our desire to set out in a canoe 


ILAGAN—THE CAPITAL OF ISABELA. 127 


without delay. A “panga” or large built up ca¬ 
noe, rowed by twelve men, was accordingly pre¬ 
pared. Friday morning November 4th, we em¬ 
barked for Aparri. We were accompanied on the 
journey by Cammandante Villa and Lieutenant 
Guzman. All the officers, civil and military, of the 
town accompanied us to the boat and wished us a 
pleasant journey. 

The panorama which was unfolded to my view 
as we descended the Rio Grande was most enchant¬ 
ing, and I gazed with rapture and regret at the dis¬ 
tant alluring mountains, into whose fastnesses and 
secrets I was forbidden to penetrate and to learn 
the character and customs of their inhabitants and 
test their minerological wealth. That the inhabi¬ 
tants of this wilderness have not attained the de¬ 
gree of civilized advancement which marks their 
lowland brethern I do not doubt, and from the evi¬ 
dence which came under my observation, I do not 
hesitate to deny that they possess the habits of in¬ 
tractability attributed to them ;from motives of per¬ 
sonal safety the Spaniards had studiously left them 
severely to themselves, but were ever ready to re¬ 
peat and enlarge upon any story of their alleged 
barbarism and cruelties without any personal 
knowledge. As I have before said, these people 
display considerable skill, intelligence and ingenui- 


128 


THROUGH LUZON. 


ty in working metal into various articles of use and 
ornamentation, as well as into weapons, and have 
shown a tendency for agricultural pursuits, which 
would seem to disprove their cannibalistic prac¬ 
tices, at least as a means of subsistence. They en¬ 
tertain such a wholesome fear of fire arms that at 
the approach of soldiers they have been known to 
bury their daughters under ground, covering them 
with matting until the soldiers passed, often so 
heavily that the poor girls were sometimes smoth¬ 
ered. 

Great herds of cattle feed on the green slopes 
lining the river bank, some of them being fine 
blooded Jerseys. One authority says there were at 
one time over one hundred thousand head of cat¬ 
tle in the province of Isabella alone, but the rav¬ 
ages of the insurrection destroyed as far as possi¬ 
ble this vast number, and almost devastated the 
country. 

The foot hills and mountains in the vast valley of 
the Rio Grande offer boundless possibilities to the 
farmer and herdsman. The climate is fine, the soil 
rich and productive. Vast areas of land remain 
untouched, owing to an indisposition on the part 
of the natives to stray far from populous districts. 

Beans, sweet potatoes, peas, onions, celery, 
water melons, tomatoes, tobacco, coffee, fine cot- 






















* 








A COUNTRY SCENE IN THE CORDIEEERAS. 












ILAGAN—THE CAPITAL OF ISABELA. 131 

ton and cocoa are a partial index of what is await¬ 
ing the energy of the thrifty American when once 
he takes possession of this beautiful Paradise and 
applies modern methods and Yankee grit to its de¬ 
velopment. 

The raising of cattle alone in the vast plains of 
the two great provinces of Isabella and Cagayan is 
a tempting venture, and admits of wonderful suc¬ 
cess. They thrive as well, if not better, in a torrid 
zone than most people suppose, and the nearness 
of the market of Hong Kong and Manila by way 
of Aparri affords a good field for speculation. 

The greatest drawback to advancement in this 
immense district is the total lack of rapid transpor¬ 
tation. The moment a railroad is completed 
along the banks of the Rio Grande, with branches 
encircling and connecting the foothills a remarka¬ 
ble metamorphosis will ensue. It would be an act 
of wisdom on the part of the Government of the 
United States to lend its aid and encouragement 
in the construction of a line of railroad through 
this island that would ensure prompt intercourse 
and sufficient means of distributing its products. 
Not one quarter of the great area of Luzon has as 
yet been explored, and the percentage now under 

cultivation is comparatively insignificant. 

8 


CHAPTER VII. 


DOWN THE RIO GRANDE TO APARRI. 



HE rapid current of the Rio Grande hurried 


1 our boat along its pleasant course un til eve¬ 
ning, when we pulled into the landing at Cabagan 
Viejo, the home of our companion Guzman. We 
visited the town and met his family, who were 
warm in their welcome and demanded that a stop 
be made for the night. But this was out of the 
question, as our leave of absence was fast ap¬ 
proaching its end. Senora Guzman occupied a 
finely constructed home, the furnishings showing 
very good taste indeed. She furnished us with a 
supply of bottled beer, offered us cigars and sweet 
meats and handed me the following letter from the 
Presidente Local of Santa Maria, at which place 
we hoped to remain a day: 

*“E 1 Presidente Local del pueblo de Sta. Maria 
de Luzon, tiene la alta honra de saludar al Sor. V. 
B. Wilcox.” 


132 


DOWN THE RIO GRANDE TO APARRI. 133 

“De V. atento afmio y, S. S., Q. B. L. M.” 

“Luis F. Santos,” 
“Isabella de Luzon-Santa Maria.” 

This shows the care with which the Filipinos use 
forms of politeness. Expressing our appreciation 
for this card and Senora Guzman’s kindness, we 
returned to the boat prepared for a night’s sleep, 
while the native oarsmen kept at their work con¬ 
tinuously. 

I had not failed to notice how little these natives 
sleep after a most tedious days’s work climbing 
the mountains. They would often sit around the 
camp fire in conversation almost the whole night, 
and with the coming of the morn were ready for 
another hard day’s work. They seem to be all 
nerve, and this on nourishment no more muscle¬ 
building than rice. It is a case of the “survival of 
the fittest,” with them. Help from doctors or sur¬ 
geons when in distress is unknown, nothing being 
used but the native remedies made of leaves and 
herbs. 

An incident occurred on this day that might 
have resulted seriously but for the presence of 
Villa. Sargent had taken a position on the bow of 
the boat, just outside of the mat awning, when 
suddenly shots were heard and a bullet whistled 
by unpleasantly near to him. Turning, he saw a 


134 


THROUGH LUZON. 


boat load of native troops in pursuit and another 
rifle pointed at him. Villa had by this time 
emerged from the interior attracted by the shots, 
and at once took in the situation. He hailed our 
pursuers energetically in the native language and 
the firing ceased, when we learned that Sargent 
had been mistaken for a Spaniard. 

Winding tortuously through the channel from 
bank to bank, passing the towns of Tuguegaro, 
into Aparri and uly settled, as usual, in the most 
Tguig, Acala, Nasiping, Gataran and Lal-lo, we 
overtook a steam launch coming up stream, sent 
by our kindly host-to-be, Colonel Tirano. Heav¬ 
ing us a line, it was not long before we were towed 
into Aparri and duly settled, as usual, in the most 
commodious house in the town. 

The Colonel was pleased to receive us, and pre¬ 
sented us to his official staff, among whom was a 
young man of magnificent proportions, handsome¬ 
ly dressed in uniform of silk, Lientenant Weber by 
name, who spoke English exceedingly well. He 
had been in Hong King with Aguinaldo, where 
he met Admiral Dewey, for whom he had the 
greatest respect as an officer, and upon whose 
judgment he implicitly relied to straighten out the 
existing entangled condition of affairs. For a 
great while he delighted us with praise of the Ad- 


DOWN THE RIO GRANDE TO APARRI. 13$ 

miral, being unaware that either Sargent or my¬ 
self belonged to that service. 

Colonel Tirano, as a mark of appreciation and 
respect for the Admiral, entrusted to my care a 
bundle of Igorrote spears and bolos for presenta¬ 
tion to him. 

The change in the appearance of the military at 
this point was very marked, silk being the mater¬ 
ial used in the uniform of the officers, with silver 
handled swords and silver-plated revolvers at their 
sides, mostly captured from the Spaniards. The 
long-suffering, silently working women were con¬ 
stantly doing their part in keeping the men in 
proper condition to meet the fatigues of a military 
campaign, and the fruits of their efforts were ap¬ 
parent on every side, and entitled them to great 
praise. 

It was raining hard when we reached Aparri, but 
one gets so used to it in this latitude that it does 
reaches maturity in grace, that in that moment he 
not interfere with any of one’s plans. Colonel 
Tirano thought the most agreeable and accepta¬ 
ble to entertain us would be to have a baile. He 
sent word to that effect to a prominent citizen of 
the place, and this man apprised the senoritas that 
they were expected to dance that very day with 
the American officers. So this wet and dreary 


136 


THROUGH LUZON. 


afternoon was pleasantly passed in whirling 
through the rigodon, the waltz and the lancers. 
The women were bright looking and very well 
dressed and though shy and retiring in their con¬ 
versation were willing to dance at any and all 
times. Refreshments in the way of sweet liquors 
and native wine were offered after every number. 
We remained until time to return to our quarters, 
quite forgetting the discomforts of travel in the 
presence of good music and comfortable surround¬ 
ings. 

Aparri is the largest port in Northern Luzon, 
with a depth of water of nearly twenty feet, with 
good dock facilities. The population is 20,000 and 
it has many handsome houses and several well-de¬ 
fined streets. The military force stationed here 
consisted of three hundred soldiers, in addition to 
which the harbor had the protection of the gun¬ 
boat “Philippina,” which carried two guns of a 
caliber of about three inches. There were several 
officers here, three captains and five or six lieuten¬ 
ants. The colonel went from town to town in his 
district, and Commandante Leyba spent part of 
his time at Tuguegarao. There were no Span¬ 
iards here, with the exception of two or three mer¬ 
chants. One of these, representing the company 
of the steamer “Saturnas,” we met. He was pur- 


DOWN THE RIO GRANDE TO APARRI. 137 

suing his business entirely unmolested. All the 
priests, soldiers and civil officers had been sent to 
Tuguegarao and other towns up the river. Col¬ 
onel Tirano did not consider them secure in a port 
town. 

The steamer “Saturnas,” which had left the har¬ 
bor the day before our arrival, brought news from 
Hong Kong papers that the senators from the 
United States at the congress of Paris favored the 
independence of the islands with an American pro¬ 
tectorate. Colonel Tirano considered the infor¬ 
mation of sufficient reliability to justify him in re¬ 
garding the Philippine independence as assured, 
and warfare in the island at an end. For this rea¬ 
son he proceeded to relinquish the military com¬ 
mand he held over the provinces and to place this 
power in the hands of a civil officer elected by the 
people. On the day following our arrival at Apar- 
ri the ceremony occurred which solemnized the 
transfer of authority in the province of Cagayan. 
The Presidentes Locales of all the towns in the 
provinces were present at the ceremony, conduct¬ 
ed by a native priest. After the priest had retired 
Colonel Tirano made a short speech stating that 
since in all probabilities permanent peace was at 
hand it became his duty to relinquish the authori¬ 
ty he had previously held over the province and 


THROUGH LUZON. 


138 

to place it in the hands of a civil officer elected by 
the people. He then handed the staff of office to 
the man who had been elected “Jd e Provincial.” 

This officer also made a speech, in which he 
thanked the disciplined military forces and their 
colonel for the service rendered the province and 
assured them that the work they had begun would 
be perpetuated by the people,^where every man, 
woman and child stood ready to take up arms to 
defend their newly won liberty and to resist with 
the last drop of their blood the attempt of any na¬ 
tion whatever to bring them back to their former 
state of dependence. His speech was very im¬ 
passioned. He then knelt, placed his hand on an 
open Bible and took the oath of office. He was 
followed by the three other officers who constitute 
the provincial government, the heads of the three 
departments, justice, police and internal revenue. 
Every town in this province has this same organ¬ 
ization. At the time of our departure Colonel 
Tirano planned to go within a few days to Hagan 
and from there to Bayombong, repeating this cere¬ 
mony in the capital city of each province. 

Aparri seems to present facilities for great im¬ 
provement as a shipping port, and with a line of 
light draft stern-wheel steamers plying on the Rio 
Grande, it will rival Manila in the amount of cargo 


DOWN THE RIO GRANDE TO APARRI. 139 


brought in for dispatch by sea. The nearness to 
Hong Kong and Yokohama, as well as the United 
States, gives it a great advantage. The native 
boats or “cascos” coming down the Rio Grande 
at present make fairly good time, but in ascending 
the river it must be by poling close to the bank, a 
slow and almost interminable process. 

The succeeding day was spent in devising means 
for transportation to the most northern port on 
the west coast. Our horses were still en route in 
charge of Don Tomas, but I had brought three 
servants for care of baggage, part of which consist¬ 
ed of Mexican dollars brought from Manila, and 
so little of it was used it became more of a bur¬ 
den than benefit. The Norwegian steamer, “Os¬ 
lo” fortunately came into port that afternoon, and 
this seemed our only hope. She was chartered by 
two Chinamen who had two hundred coolies on 
board bound for Manila. At first they refused per¬ 
mission for us to embark, and declined to put in at 
any port on the west coast. No sooner was this 
related to Colonel Tirano than he sent notice that 
the ship could no clear without taking us and mak¬ 
ing a landing where we desired. This argument 
was convincing, but I agreed to pay one hundred 
Mexicans for the trip, which was to begin the next 
evening. 


140 


THROUGH LUZON. 


The horses and outfit were left in charge of Don 
Tomas to make the best of his way to Manila by 
any ship that would carry them. 

While waiting for the steamer to sail, a German 
who had been buying tobacco in Iabela, intro¬ 
duced himself in English and told of his experi¬ 
ence of the last few days in coming down the river. 
He had hired a native crew of oarsmen to bring 
him to Aparri, carrying with him twenty thousand 
Mexican dollars. Being alone, though under¬ 
standing the language, he felt safe enough, but 
during the night this crew turned pirates, bound 
him hand and foot, placing him on the bow of the 
boat for the purpose of shoving him overboard at 
a convenient place. While near the bank, in a 
shallow stretch of water, having previously released 
his feet from their bindings, and at a favorable 
moment, he jumped into the water, making the 
bank with the greatest difficulty. Here he re¬ 
mained until daylight, when assisted by natives 
who unbound his arms, showing them cut near the 
shoulders to a quarter of an inch into the flesh. 
Some of this money was found, three thousand 
dollars, and the balance was promised by Colonel 
Tirano in case the robbers were not found, search 
for whom was immediately instituted. 


DOWN THE RIO GRANDE TO APARRI. 141 

After a pleasant three days at Aparri, we left on 
the “Oslo” November 9th. Before leaving Col¬ 
onel Tirano provided us with a letter addressed to 
Colonel Tino, at Vigan, in the province of Ilocos 
Sur, or in the event of his absence from that town, 
to the commande. This letter was sealed. 


CHAPTER VIII. 


FROM APARRI TO SALOMAGUE. 

T HE captain of the “Oslo,” Peterson, was 
very agreeable and did his utmost for our 
comfort, but the two Chinamen, who 
had their wives on board, were smoking opium 
in their cabin; the fumes penetrating into 
our little apartment made the air stifling, but we 
managed to weather it through. Along the north¬ 
ern coast are several seemingly thrifty towns, and 
quite secluded from the other parts of the island 
by being located in the valleys surrounded by 
mountains on either side. 

It was hoped the port of Currimao in the prov¬ 
ince of Ilocos Norte, would afford a place for dis¬ 
embarking, but Captain Peterson was not ac¬ 
quainted with it and took us on to Salomague, a 
few miles further south in the province of Ilocos 
Sur. 

He put us ashore with our hand baggage only, 
in his cutter, and to the astonishment of the native 


142 


FROM APARRI TO SALOMAGUE. 


i 43 


people we landed. The Oslo had heaved anchor, 
was already under way, and we found ourselves in 
the hands of the inhabitants with no horses and 
no means of conveyance except what could be 
found with the almighty dollars still remaining. 

Our arrival had been reported at the town of 
Cabagao, some six miles distant, and not knowing 
what the result might be, we sat down to take 
everything calmly and trust to luck. So many dis¬ 
appointments and difficulties had cropped up from 
the day we left Manila that it had developed a love 
of surmounting obstacles, and smooth sailing is a 
tame affair after all. 

On the shore of Salomague we looked over the 
fortifications there, a barricade five feet high and 
one hundred and fifty feet long, built up with sticks 
arranged in two rows and filled in between with 
sand and coral stones. Its walls are about four 
feet thick, and built in the form of a crescent, with 
the concave part towards the sea. The formation 
of the reefs here and for some distance south along 
the coast is coral. 

Waiting patiently a short time, two officials 
from Cabugao rode up, who had come immediate¬ 
ly to refuse permisison to disembark. They were 
both dressed in military uniform, one wearing the 
insignia of a first lieutenant, the other none what- 


144 


THROUGH LUZON. 


ever. There was nothing 1 left but to provide horses 
and with these we accompanied them to Cabugao. 
The officer without insignia of rank proved to be 
a native priest, the cure of the village. He put on 
his robe over his uniform as soon as he reached 
the convent. It is a fact worthy of note that in 
every town we visited in the provinces on the west¬ 
ern coast we were met by a cure, who appeared to 
have great influence in civil matters. In the four 
provinces we had previously visited, on the con¬ 
trary, we saw only one native priest. He was in a 
church performing service. At Cabugao our let¬ 
ter to Colonel Tino was not sufficient permission 
to proceed. We were detained here all day, while 
the lieutenant sent a messenger to Vigan to obtain 
instructions from the commande. The telegraph 
line was down and we could not wire. We were 
treated very cooly.at this town and were regarded 
with suspicion. Next morning, an answer not hav¬ 
ing been received from Vigan, we asserted our 
right to proceed to that town to present our letter 
to the commandante. The lieutenant finally with¬ 
drew his objections. There were no transporta¬ 
tion accommodations, but we succeeded at length 
in buying one horse and a broken down “quiles,” 
in which only one could ride. 


FROM APARRI TO SALOMAGUE. 


MS 


The roads in this part of the island are extreme¬ 
ly good, with exception that most of the bridges 
are carried away by every freshet. The highway 
was constructed years ago and is wide enough for 
any carriage to pass at any place along the entire 
west coast line* It is much more interesting on 
this side of the island than the eastern part, from 
its showing a longer development, more substan¬ 
tially built houses, and better cultivated fields. In 
the narrow strip of land lying between the moun¬ 
tain range and the sea, nearly all of it is given over 
to rice growing, and at the time we passed every 
available person was employed cutting palay or rice 
straw, tying it up in neat small bundles. More 
women and girls were thus occupied than men, 
and to keep the rays of the sun from beating down 
too fiercely, large shades made of strips of bamboo, 
closely woven together, were stuck in the soft 
ground and moved along as the harvesting pro¬ 
gressed. 

At times when field work is unnecessary, the 
women occupy their spare moments in spinning 
cotton and weaving cloth, and it is not rare to 
see an elderly man leisurely walking the streets 
with a bundle of cotton, twisting the thread and 
reeling it into balls. The silk and cotton goods 
made in Ilocos have the quality of being extreme- 


146 


THROUGH LUZON. 


ly durable, but more expensive than the imported 
cotton of Europe. 

The men and women of this province were well 
dressed and displayed an air of being amply fed 
and comfortable. Now and then along the road 
were groves of cocoanut trees, the almost indis¬ 
pensable food for the natives. When green, the 
nuts furnish milk that is not so sweet as when ripe, 
and is much more desired. The “bolo” is always 
used to cut the nuts for food and drink. A grove 
of cocoanuts is most profitable after the seventh 
year of planting and pay thirty to forty per cent, 
annual revenue. 

Corn grows well along the slopes of the moun¬ 
tains, being raised in some quantities, but is not so 
well liked by the native as rice. Sheep and cattle 
flourish in the foothills, but lack of proper atten¬ 
tion prevents them from making much of an in¬ 
crease in numbers. 

Tobacco forms a part of the products of this lo¬ 
cality, and though raised mostly for local consump¬ 
tion, is far inferior to that of the provinces of Cag¬ 
ayan and Isabela, some of which is said to equal 
that of the Vuelto Abajo district of Cuba. 

I noticed some sugar cane growing along the 
road, and also immense quantities of bamboo and 
“bejuco” or rattan, the latter useful for tying to- 


A NATIVE CAROMATA. 


















FROM APARRI TO SALOMAGUE. 


149 


gether the bamboo in the innumerable and differ¬ 
ent articles which the natives find necessary for 
daily life. The roots of the bamboo are edible and 
for want of better food is a good substitute. 

With only a “bolo” and plenty of bamboo and 
rattan, the native can construct anything from a 
house to a bridge, fish traps and bird nets; and in 
traveling through the country in the rainy season 
when flooded streams are encountered, it does not 
interfere with his peace of mind. He soon makes 
a shelter of bamboo poles, covers it with palm 
leaves and long grass, and waits for the water to 
subside sufficiently to cross by raft or a bridge 
made of bamboo matted together. 

I found many of these so-called bridges on thfe 
side of the island, the rainy season just passed hav¬ 
ing carried away those made the previous year. 

Passing through this fairly well cultivated stretch 
of country, the Cordilleras made a background to 
the eastward that looked tempting for anyone en¬ 
thused with a spirit of venture into unbeaten paths, 
but it was forbidden us to penetrate this inviting 
scene. 

The village of Lapo, six miles farther on, was 
reached about noon where we took lunch with the 
officials and prepared for continuing the journey. 
They were hospitable enough, but it was necessary 
9 


THROUGH LUZON. 


150 

to change horses, and the only thing in this line 
obtainable was a steer. Nothing daunted, we 
hitched the steer into the “quiles” and proceeded 
in this undignified way in the direction of the next 
town, Masingal. 

We were halfway between Lapo and Masingal 
when we were met by three military officers—two 
captains and a lieutenant—in a carriage drawn by 
two horses. The senior captain informed us that 
they had been sent from Vigan by the comman- 
dante, with orders to require us to turn back and 
re-embark on our ship, the report having reached 
Vigan that we had disembarked from an American 
man-of-war, which was still waiting for us at Salo- 
mague. When we explained our position and 
showed them the letter to Colonel Tino, or in case 
of his absence to the commandante at Vigan, they 
permitted us to proceed to Masingal until the 
early evening, waiting for an answer from the 
commandante. He brought the answer himself 
in a handsome carriage drawn by four horses. He 
had with him a copy of the order he had just re¬ 
ceived from the Philippine Secretary of War. 
This order granted liberty to persons of any nation 
except Spain to travel at will through the islands, 
under certain restrictions, viz., that they could not 
carry arms, nor approach within 200 meters of a 


FROM APARRI TO SALOMAGUJL 151 

fortification, nor make any plans, or take photo¬ 
graphs of them. In compliance with this order, 
we were allowed to proceed, but were requested to 
give up all our arms, including our revolvers. 

In company with the commandante and five oth¬ 
er officers who had assembled at Masingal, we rode 
in carriages, none of them drawn by fewer than 
three horses, and preceded by outriders, with ban¬ 
ners flying. The towns of Sta Domingo and San 
Ildefonso were soon passed, reaching Bantay at 
the bank of the Rio Abra at dark. This wide, tur¬ 
bulent stream spreads out here and covers such a 
space that the water is shallow enough for fording 
without any danger. At eight o’clock we were 
escorted to the Palacio at Vigan, the former resi¬ 
dence of the Spanish governor of the province of 
Ilocos Sur, but then being used as the headquar¬ 
ters of Colonel Tino, and there we were provided 
with dinner and large sleeping rooms with neat 
and clean beds for the night. The commandante 
was polite and courteous in every possible way, 
throwing open his house for our benefit and en¬ 
tertainment. He had music for our pleasure and 
said he was only sorry he had not more. 


CHAPTER IX. 


VIGAN, CAPITAL OF ILOCOS SUR. 


V IGAN is the capital of the province of Ilocos 
Sur, with a popualtion of 27,000. Its 
streets are well laid out, though somewhat 
overgrown with grass, and all the houses near the 
center of the town are built up of brick and wood, 
usually whitewashed. It has much more the ap¬ 
pearance of a city than any other town we visited. 

In addition to the Palacio the residence of the 
arch bishop is a striking edifice, and, if anything, 
more elegant in all its surroundings and appear¬ 
ance. 

At the Palacia there were quartered over eigh¬ 
teen military officers; all very young as is usual in 
the Filipino army. The oldest one among them 
was a man of twenty-nine years, with the grade of 
a captain. These officers were most inquisitive, 
dipping into all sorts of subjects that required 
diplomacy to avoid answering in a direct manner, 
but were pleasant enough and willing to render 

iS» 


VIGAN—CAPITAL OF ILOCOS SUR. 


*53 


any assistance necessary. The uniforms were no¬ 
ticeably fine, many made of pure silk by the women 
of the province, and their swords and revolvers 
were silver plated. 

We remained at Vigan all next day, November 
12th. It had rained during the night, rendering 
impassable a part of the road to the next town. 
We walked through the streets visiting the shops 
of several tradespeople. At one of these we heard 
the first and only definite complaint which came to 
our ears during the entire journey, on the part of 
the natives, against the present government. 
These people complained of the taxes imposed 
upon them, and even went so far as to state that 
they preferred the Spanish government. This 
statement was made in the presence of a party of 
six natives and was acquiesced in by all. They were 
all, however, of the same family. 

The general appearance of Vigan was that it 
had been a prosperous town with important com¬ 
mercial transactions, as evidenced by the number 
of Chinamen in trade, who only go where business 
is brisk and profitable. At this time there was a 
dull, inactive atmosphere surrounding the city, 
and no one seemed to be doing anything but wait¬ 
ing for developments. 


*54 


THROUGH LUZON. 


The country near Vigan is fair to look upon; the 
land is fertile and wonderfully productive. Many 
cattle and sheep are raised in the hills, this indus¬ 
try not thriving very well, though a good market is 
afforded at Vigan and Manila. The value of land 
is reasonable, large tracts of which are obtainable 
for a small amount, though the surveys, what they 
are, no doubt being much confused. 

In the early morning of the next day the Fran¬ 
ciscan priest who had charge of the matters per¬ 
taining to his order in that district, invited me to 
accompany him across the river from Vigan en 
route south. The stream was so wide, however, 
and the current so strong, we were compelled to 
build “balsas,” and thus ferry our party over. On 
the opposite bank was waiting a handsome Victor¬ 
ia and horses, in which we proceeded to the town 
of Santa. Here I was asked to visit an extensive 
sugar mill, the output of which was the principal 
product of the province. A sort of liquor or “cana 
dulce” was manufactured in large quantities, 
though shipped mostly to Manila, the natives be¬ 
ing most temperate in their drinks, and this stuff 
is fiery enough to satisfy even a wild Apache. The 
mill had extensive machinery, large iron crushing 
rolls and evaporating pans with a refining process 
in the building. It was not running constantly, 
the cane cultivation being insufficient to supply the 
mill enough for its full capacity. 




VIGAN—CAPITAL OF ILOCOS SUR. 155 

From Santa to Narvacan we came to the pass 
of Pidig. The road here passes between a bold 
rocky point and the sea. The sea line was seventy 
or eighty feet from the bluff, but in windy weather 
the waves cover the road and dash against the 
rocks in furiousness. During the insurrection the 
Spaniards attempted to defend this pass, and their 
barriers are still standing. 

From this pass the road remained good to Nar¬ 
vacan, where a short halt was made, but long 
enough to visit the Presidente Local—a bright 
young man, quietly occupying the former resi¬ 
dence of the local priest, a well furnished house, 
with a library of rare books from which the presi¬ 
dente offered us any we wished to take. Am very 
sorry that I was hindered in accepting some of 
these fifteenth century volumes, but any additional 
weight, however valuable, was not to be consid¬ 
ered. 

At this town we were joined by Captain Nativi- 
dad, an officer of eighteen years, who commanded 
the military forces in the three neighboring vil¬ 
lages, and he accompanied us to Santa Maria, 
where we spent the night in a convent. 

In traveling through the islands I had learned 
that where there were towns that could be reached 
at night, no difficulty was found in obtaining places 


i 5 6 


THROUGH LUZON. 


to sleep at night without the necessity of using 
tents, and on this knowledge I had left our camp¬ 
ing outfit at Aparri, making such stages on the 
road as would bring us to a certain place during 
daylight. It was nearly always a room in the con- 
vento that was put at our disposal. 

The convento at Santa Maria occupied a most 
beautiful and imposing location upon an elevation 
on the side of the mountain, strongly built as a 
fortress, overlooking the town and valley. It was 
a large and massive structure of heavy stone, the 
rooms very commodious, containing furniture re¬ 
markable for its quality of material. The head 
boards and posts of the bed were carved out of 
solid mahogany in most artistic figures. The bed 
spreads were made of cotton woven in the manner 
peculiar to the locality. One of these was presented 
to me by the occupant of the convent. I succeeded 
in getting it to Manila, but had to part with it, on 
account of weight before leaving for the United 
States, some time later. 

Stained glass windows softened the light falling 
into the drawing room, which was decorated with 
pictures and tapestries. The walls had been fres¬ 
coed by some one of artistic pretentions, the col¬ 
ors blending harmoniously. Everything had been 
left by the priests in good condition, when sudden- 


VIGAN—CAPITAL OF ILOCOS SUR. 


*57 


ly called upon to abandon without parley, their 
comfortable abode. 

The church, or cathedral as it might be called, 
adjoined the convento by only a short intervening 
space and was unusually large for so small a town. 
There may be some reason, which I did not learn, 
why such grand structures should be built in this 
unimportant place. Seated at a window in the 
morning, overlooking the village, I noticed a funer¬ 
al procession coming toward the church. It 
stopped under some heavy trees, where a short 
ceremony took place, and then ascended the long 
row of stone steps leading to the entrance of the 
cathedral. As it passed near my window I saw it 
was that of a woman, the casket open, her face up¬ 
turned, bared to the pitiless sky, and a black wood¬ 
en cross placed upon her breast. The procession 
passed within, and after the usual formalities, came 
out again, disappearing in the direction of the cem¬ 
etery. I noticed at this place, as in others, how 
well dressed the people usually were, and one nev¬ 
er sees a man, however humble, in tattered and 
torn or shabby clothes. 

The view from the convento towards the Cordil¬ 
leras in the east, again stimulated our fondest de¬ 
sire to risk our safety along the practically un¬ 
known trails of this enticing locality. It always 




THROUGH LUZON. 


seems that a forbidden country, about which only 
vague and legendary information is given, is just 
what inspires one with a restless and venturesome 
spirit to investigate it, surrounded as it generally 
is by the greatest danger. 

With this feeling I intended leaving Santa Maria 
by trail for the mountains, passing through the 
provinces of Lepanto and Benguet and returning 
to the main road in the province of La Union. 
When we wished to start next morning, Captain 
Natividad opposed our going, saying he was un¬ 
der orders to take that action. It rained very hard 
all night and all morning, and the captain gave as 
his first reason that the trail was not passable. It 
was only when we continued to insist, that he told 
us positively he could not permit us to go, as there 
was danger from the Igorrotes, and Colonel Tino 
felt himself responsible for our safety, and besides 
had invited us to visit him at San Fernando, the 
capital of the province of La Union. 

I was unable to understand or divine the stren¬ 
uous opposition to our passing through this moun¬ 
tainous district, except on the ground of fear in 
the minds of officials that we were there for no oth¬ 
er purpose than making a mental survey of all stra¬ 
tegic points. We afterwards met a German en 
route to his ranch in the hills in the province of 


VIGAN-CAPITAL OF ILOCOS SUR. 


! 59 


Benguet, so that dispelled the theory of any dan¬ 
ger from the wild tribes of the mountains. 

With the hope of penetrating more deeply into 
the interior deferred until we could see Col. Tino 
personally, a start was made in the afternoon from 
Santa Maria, and Candon was reached before 
night. Along this route the road was very good 
and we passed through the small towns of San 
Esteban and Santiago without stopping. 

Candon is a handsome town, symmetrically laid 
out, and after Vigan was the finest we had visited. 
There were two captains and several lieutenants 
stationed here who received us with unusual cour¬ 
tesy. The presidente local was most gracious in 
his attentions, furnishing the best that was afforded 
in the way of food and service. After dinner we 
adjourned to the sala and were presented to the 
important men of the town, who had come to pay 
their respects and make inquiries upon subjects 
which interested them most. In conversation I 
found two of the men of a very progressive spirit, 
Senores Abaya and Villalobos, and after our dis¬ 
cussing the resources of the adjacent districts and 
our disappointment at not learning more about 
them, they expressed the belief that no objection 
could be made to our going there. They did not 
know, however, how vainly we had attempted to 


THROUGH LUZON. 


160 

carry out such a plan. In the morning these men 
appeared with a letter very well written in Span¬ 
ish as follows: 

*“Senores Abayay Villalobos, ciudadanos filipi- 
no del pueblo de Kandon de la provincia de Uocos 
Sur, ofrece respetuosamente Sus servicios al 
Excmo. Senor Gral, Americano y desea accom- 
panarle cuando haga la excursion por los montes 
de Lepanto y Tiagan con la autorizacion que sol- 
icitara de su G. R. 

Kandon 

15 de Noviembre, 1898,” 

It being out of the question to consider such a 
journey at this stage, I told them so, but Senor 
Abaya had other schemes after that. He said 
Candon was a good place to establish a factory for 
making cloth, various kinds of drinks and canned 
vegetables, and offered his services as a manager 


*“Senores Abaya and Villalobos, Philippino citi¬ 
zens of the town of Candon province of Uocos Sur 
respectfully offer their services to the American 
officer, and wish to accompany him when he makes 
the excursion through the mountains of Lepanto 
and Tiagan, with the authorization which we would 
solicit from him. 


Candon, 15th Nov. 1898. 



VIGAN-CAPITAL OF ILOCOS SUR. 161 

or stockholder. Another of his plans was to buy 
coffee in Lepanto and ship it to Manila at a great 
profit. He said he could buy gold there from 
$12 to $14 in silver an ounce and copper also was 
to be had in quantities. As in other districts of the 
island there seems to have been more reports of 
gold than evidences of the metal itself. When a 
geological survey is made and the pick and shovel 
actually used, or placers worked with a pan, I dare 
say some reliable information may be obtained; 
yet the formation of the rocks is so comparatively 
recent that the theory of the existence of gold 
would not justify the expectation of finding it in 
any great quantity. It reminds one of the old sto¬ 
ry of the rainbow. “There are bags full of gold 
at the end of the bow,” but a difficult matter to 
quite reach it, being always just over the mountain. 

This man Abaya was a unique specimen of a 
Filipino, full of energy and could turn his hand to 
anything; much like a man I know who operated 
to a small extent in Wall street. He had thirteen 
schemes to make a million, but not one to make 
a living. 

The home of one of my servants, Pedro, was 
at Candon, and he piloted me around the town, 
stopping at one shop where “Nitos” were made. 
(The little silver gods worshipped by the various 


162 


THROUGH LUZON. 


tribes in the mountains.) The proprietor was do¬ 
ing such a rushing business he had only a few of 
the doubled-up human figures left, and these with¬ 
out arms. I wanted one as a “mascot,” and he 
promised to complete one and send it to me at 
Manila, but it must be doing duty as a safeguard 
for some wild man, as it never reached me. 


CHAPTER X. 


ALONG THE WEST COAST. 

T HE Presidente Local of Candon having done 
his utmost to make a pleasant break in our 
journey, was alert early, making prepara¬ 
tions for going south, and with a captain, rode 
with us to Santa Lucia, where to my regret he 
retraced his way homeward. Fresh horses were 
found awaiting us and there was no lack of official 
courtesy in making our party seem important by 
having a sufficient escort. 

The roads were found in good condition with a 
few exceptions, along which we made fair progress 
through the towns of Santa Cruz, Tagdin and Ban- 
where the night was to be passed. The carriages 
where the night ws to be passed. The carriages 
we had were drawn by either horses, steers or buf¬ 
faloes, according to the state of the road, and 
many times walking was another means. In go¬ 
ing from Tagudin to Bangan we left the province 
of I locos Sur entering that of La Union. Cocoa- 


16 4 


THROUGH LUZON. 


nut groves shaded either side of the highway. This 
thoroughfare was raised above the level of the 
fields, with a foundation of stone and was built 
more than a hundred years ago. Most all of the 
bridges had been burned during the insurrection, 
but a substitute was made of bamboo to last dur¬ 
ing the dry season from December to June. In 
the rainy months a ferry or raft is hauled across 
the stream by means of a bamboo rope. 

There are more barrios here than in the eastern 
provinces, each town having two or three, and the 
struggle during the insurrection was harder as 
shown by the devasted appearance of the district. 
Spanish soldiers burned the smaller houses, taking 
refuge in the larger buildings, usually the church 
and convento, which were consequently riddled 
with rifle shots. 

One could not but notice the industry of the wo¬ 
men, almost ceaselessly at work weaving cotton in 
their thatched cottages surounded by a profusion 
of natural flowers and verdure, and to all appear¬ 
ances quite contented. The cotton of Ilocos Sur 
is made into cloth, towels, etc., some of it coarse, 
but strong, and other pieces of exquisitely fine tex¬ 
ture. While the women are allowed an amount 
of liberty unknown in other eastern countries, they 
are rigidly loyal and devoted to their homes and 




FISHING ON THE RIO GRANDE 












ALONG THE WEST COAST. 167 

families, and do a full share of the work in a cheer¬ 
ful and always pleasant natural manner. 

This narrow strip between the Cordilleras and 
the sea is thickly settled, and fs a region where 
climate is preferable to that of the low-lying dis¬ 
tricts around Manila. The Spaniards spent much 
money in constructing the most important high¬ 
way of the island along this coast, and the railroad 
from Dagupan is projected to follow this line to 
Laoag in Ilocos Norte, the completion of which 
will add immeasurably to the products of the fields 
and forests. The slow, tiresome gait of a carabao, 
almost the companion of the native, must yield to 
more rapid means of transportation, as the Filipino 
seems to take especial delight in traveling in rail¬ 
road cars when he can. 

At the town of Namacpacan carriages were pro¬ 
vided for continuing to San Fernando, the capital 
of the province of La Union. I was getting most 
anxious to reach Manila now, my leave of absence 
having expired, and I did not know what the Ad¬ 
miral might say about my delay in reporting on 
board ship. There was nothing that could be 
done to hasten our return in a country where the 
most rapid means of travel would not take one 
more than ten or fifteen miles in a day. I did my 
best to encourage more rapid speed, but still we 
10 


i68 


THROUGH LUZON. 


had to “soldier” along through the towns of Dag- 
notan and San Juan, quite forgetting time and dis¬ 
tance in the absorbing surroundings of this still at¬ 
tractive region coming into view from hour to 
hour. 

Reaching San Fernando we were escorted to 
the palacio, formerly occupied by the Spanish gov¬ 
ernor of the province of La Union, and there met 
Colonel Tino, one whom we most wished to see. 
He was a young man of about twenty-two years 
of age, with a sharp, piercing eye, very nervous, 
very busy and quite domineering. At this time 
Colonel Tino was commander of the military dis¬ 
trict embracing the provinces of North and South 
Uocos, Union, Abra, Lepanto, Bontoc and Ben- 
guet. He had just received his commission as 
brigadier-general, and there was a grand celebra¬ 
tion to take effect the following day. In conse¬ 
quence the town was gay with flags and bunting 
and crowded with throngs of people from neigh¬ 
boring towns. 

In the palacio were quartered about twenty na¬ 
tive officers with ourselves, all dressed in their fin¬ 
est uniforms and accoutrements. One of them, 
more kindly disposed than the others, took the 
trouble in showing us around, explaining how des¬ 
perate the fighting was at this place with the Span- 


ALONG THE WEST COAST. 


169 


ish garrison. The building showed it in every 
room, the walls being simply riddled with bullets, 
outside and through all the windows. 

After dispatching some business Gen. Tino re¬ 
ceived us politely, but not with remarkable cordi¬ 
ality. He expressed several times his suspicion 
with regard to the object of our journey, and 
asked frequently if we knew how to make maps 
and plans; also why we were not in uniform. We 
had sent word to this officer that we desired to 
visit the province of Benguet, taking the trail from 
San Fernando. He showed us an unsigned tele¬ 
gram purporting to be from the central govern¬ 
ment instructing him not to pemit the American 
officers to reconnoiter any further in the district. 
For this reason he said he could not permit us to 
visit Benguet. We sent, through him, a telegram 
to the central government repeating our request 
and calling attention to their war department’s or¬ 
der of October 20th regarding travelers. We were 
informed next morning by General Tino that our 
request had been refused. The reason given was 
that there were dangers on the trail. 

After convincing him of being satisfied with the 
state of affairs, and manifesting a deeper interest 
in the products of the country and beauties lying 
in the wooded hills than in military affairs, he soft- 


i7o 


THROUGH LUZON. 


ened down to a more friendly conversation, offer¬ 
ing the usual hospitalities and particularly insist¬ 
ing upon our going to the dinner given to his offi¬ 
cers and officials and their wives the following day 
at twelve o’clock. This was accepted with appro¬ 
priate thanks and appreciation. 

During the morning we strolled around, visiting 
places of interest, not least of which was the large 
“cabildo” or jail, an enormous structure, built of 
heavy stone with strong iron bars to each cell. 
One of those places over the door of which might 
properly be inscribed: “Who enters here leaves 
hope behind.” 

San Fernando is a town of only three or four 
thousand inhabitants, very limited in area, lying 
between the mountains and the sea, and is the port 
of entry for the province of La Union. I noticed 
trains of buffalo carts bringing in tobacco and cof¬ 
fee for exportation, and some thriftiness among 
the shop keepers, chief of whom were Chinese. 

A short time before twelve we were escorted to 
a very large and roomy public building facing the 
square in front of the palacio and there presented 
to the important civil and military officials. The 
native band was making the atmosphere cheerful, 
and it seemed to me their music had good time, 
though the melody was strange. The decorations 


MANNER OF HANDLING CARABAO ON THE ROADS. 
























































































ALONG THE WEST COAST. 


*73 


were lavish with flowers and flags of the country, 
to which were added many gay colors of women's 
dresses, the younger ones displaying gowns of blue 
and yellow silks, while the elders wore the custom¬ 
ary white camisas and dark skirts. The men were 
well attired with neat white shirts, collars and ties, 
black coats and trousers. A number of the young 
women had bright and attractive looking faces, 
and comely, graceful manners. I must confess I 
felt somewhat chagrined in joining this large 
assembly with a traveling suit that had seen hard 
service and a pair of worn out shoes. The com¬ 
pany was soon summoned to the table, richly cov¬ 
ered with flowers, china and glassware, at which 
eighty persons were seated. 

The courses were served in regular manner, 
soup, fish and then chicken and meats, followed 
by dessert and coffee. Wine was liberally brought 
on at intervals, and at the end cigars, more than 
usually good. At this stage of the dinner speeches 
were made, and great things were promised by the 
Philippine Republic in the near future. General 
Tino was not the least enthusiastic one among 
them, praising the army and all the native people 
in general. I sat next to a rather intelligent young 
woman, with whom I endeavored to carry on a 
conversation, but for some reason she did not 
seem deeply interested in what I said, or else her 


174 


THROUGH LUZON. 


thoughts were on other things than those I ven¬ 
tured to put forth. Altogether it was a dinner 
such as one might attend in a country more pre¬ 
tentious than Luzon, so far as the general service 
of the table was concerned. There was a feeling 
of light-heartedness among the guests, and when 
the band again commenced to play in the sala, a 
large number of those present started dancing. 
The lancers was about the same as usually danced, 
and I found no difficulty in getting through them 
without serious blunders or stepping on some 
young woman’s train with my heavy shoes. Sev¬ 
eral specimens of purely native steps were intro¬ 
duced, showing great skill in the various move¬ 
ments of the feet and body. 

In thus mingling with the people and joining 
their festivities and conversations, I had learned 
much of the home life of the inhabitants of the in¬ 
terior, products and industries, which interested 
me more than the political condition of the island. 
Life in general on this west coast betrayed a 
brighter aspect, more comfort, better means of 
obtaining luxuries, being easier of access to Manila 
than in the valley of the Rio Grande. 

I left the assembled company late in the after¬ 
noon for our quarters, expressing due appreciation 
for the kindness shown us, and thanking our en¬ 
tertainers for a most pleasant day. 


CHAPTER XI. 


THE PROVINCE OF BENGUET. 

G ENERAL Tino was good enough to start 
us off in the morning duly provided with 
carriages and outriders, probably not re¬ 
gretting to be free from the burden of having us 
longer on his hands. We drove along leisurely all 
the forenoon, arriving at Bauang about twelve 
o’clock, resting there for about two hours and tak¬ 
ing lunch with the local civil officials at the presi- 
dencia. A short “siesta” was suggested after 
smoking some good cigars, but this was inter¬ 
rupted by the entrance of a German, Mr. Otto 
Sheerer, who learning that two Americans were 
there, came and introduced himself. 

Mr. Sheerer was en route to his coffee estate in 
the mountains in the province of Benguet, where 
he had lived for three years with his wife and fam¬ 
ily of two daughters. He said the trail was safe 
and could be traveled by horses, though he had 
himself carried in a sort of sedan chair, suspended 


175 


176 


THROUGH LUZON. 


from long bamboo poles on the shoulders of native 
men. According to his statement the Igorrotes 
of the province are very gentle people, but these 
are the civilized ones, or Tinguanes. He had been 
in the tobacco business at Manila, but finding his 
health slowly giving way, tried this district; the 
clear crystal water and high elevation restored it, 
so he decided to make his home there and raise 
coffee. The plants thrive in the proper tempera¬ 
ture found along the foot hills and the industry is 
profitable. 

This district is one hundred and seventy miles 
from Manila, most of the distance covered by rail 
to Dagupan. The elevation is from 3,000 to 4,000 
feet, the climate deliciously cool, the lowest tem¬ 
perature being about thirty degrees in winter and 
seventy-five in the summer. It was proposed by 
the Spanish government to build a Sanitarium in 
Benguet for the recuperation of invalid soldiers, 
also roads leading to it from the coast, and it may 
be that the United States will complete the plan. 

Several hot mineral springs in this locality were 
studied by a Commission and the analyses of the 
waters show medicinal properties. The one at 
Galiano, in the western part of Benguet, was 
changed in its thermal and sulphurous qualities by 
an earthquake in 1892. Three of the springs show 


THE PROVINCE OF BENGUET. 


177 


sulphur, chloride of sodium and bicarbonate of 
iron. It would be interesting* to have a quantita¬ 
tive analysis of these waters for their value as cura¬ 
tive agents which they must possess. 

An Englishman who lived there three years be¬ 
fore the Philippine Commission, says: “One needs 
blankets at night, that there is no fever and no 
mosquitoes, the air being pure and fresh and the 
water splendid. Cattle, horses, sheep, rice and 
sweet potatoes flourish—also tea and coffee and 
bananas. There seems to be any amount of gold, 
copper and silver mined in a crude fashion, panned 
out by the Indians in ap rimitive sort of way in a 
cocoanut shell. There is a great amount of tim¬ 
ber there, pine trees that grow up to 200 feet and 
five to six feet in diameter, white pine and pitch 
pine. 

“The conditions for recuperating health are much 
better in < Beuquet than in any place in Europe. 
There is clear freestone water; water containing 
iron; water containing sulphur; water containing 
magnesia; and also salt water, which is a strong 
and efficacious purgative water. The sulphur wa¬ 
ters are very strong; some have a temperature of 
70 degrees, and there are others cold. They smell 
very strongly of sulphur, and from a distance 
which requires half an hour to travel you can 


i 7 8 


THROUGH LUZON. 


smell the sulphur. There is a volcano, but it is 
very old; nothing more than the smoke coming 
out. It does not emit fire, and there is a great 
deal of sulphur, every piece the size of a man’s fist. 
This volcano would probably cover six or seven 
square miles, and in some places it burns your 
hand to put it on the ground, while in others it 
feels very cold. The gold mines in this district 
are worked by nature itself. The Agno river pro¬ 
duces most of it, and when the river is high and 
backs up, the Igorrotes afterwards go and get the 
gold which is left by the waters, and they find small 
nuggets of six and eight grains. The Igorrotes of 
Beuquet are the most advanced; they are also the 
richest of all the Igorrotes. There are no poor 
among them on account of the great quantity of 
gold, for if a man has no money he goes to the 
river and gets some gold. There are no real rich 
men, for if a man there has $1,000 he is considered 
rich. 

“Altogether the province of Beuquet is the most 
healthful in all the Philippines; the scenery is mag¬ 
nificent ; the waters pure, whether from hot or cold 
springs; the air rich in the aroma from pine forest; 
the food fresh and wholesome, and people who go 
there with dysentery or fever, after a month or two 
come back to Manila quite fresh men. The Igor- 


THE PROVINCE OF BENGUET. 


*79 


rotes are very peaceful and quiet, and though not 
taxed, were oppressed. The Spanish Comman¬ 
dant would have a birthday, and the priests would 
have another one, then the Commandant’s wife, 
and the natives would have to bring in presents of 
gold or cattle or something else on these birthdays, 
and in all the Spanish feasts they would have to 
do exactly the same thing. Each chief, in fact the 
whole of the natives, would have to bring in gold 
or cattle to present to the Commandant, and it 
worked better for him than taxation.” 

I particularly noticed the build of the men Mr. 
Sheerer had with him, all of them strong and mus¬ 
cular, and he told me they were full of endurance, 
very faithful and with no bad traits. On their own 
stamping ground they worked for him without 
complaint and he never interfered with their hab¬ 
its or customs. The condition of the natives here 
is similar to that described by Humboldt of those 
of Mexico. He says: “The natives enjoy one 
great physical advantage which is undoubtedly ow¬ 
ing to the great simplicity in which their ancestors 
lived. They are subject to hardly any deformity. 
I never saw a hunchbacked Indian, and it is ex¬ 
tremely rare to see any of them who squint or are 
lame in arm or leg. Their hair seldom becomes 
gray, nor is their skin subject to wrinkles, and it is 


i8o THROUGH LUZON. 

by no means uncommon to see natives, especially 
women, reach one hundred years of age. We can 
have no doubt then, that the absence of natural 
deformities among them is the effect of their mode 
of life and the constitutions peculiar to their race. 

“We are inclined to believe that the Arab- 
European race possesses a greater flexibility of or¬ 
ganization, and that it is more easily modified by a 
great number of exterior causes, such as variety of 
ailments, climates and habits, and consequently 
has a greater tendency to deviate from its original 
model. 

“How many problems then are to be solved in a 
mountainous country, which exhibits in the same 
latitude the greatest variety of climates, inhabitants 
of three or four primitive races, and a mixture of 
these races in all the combinations imaginable? 
How many researches to be made regarding the 
fecundity and longevity of the species? The latter 
is greater or less according to the elevation and 
temperature of the places, the variety of the races 
and finally, according to the difference of food in 
provinces, where the banana, rice, maize, wheat 
and potatoes grow together in a narrow space.” 

I have paused in describing my journey to give 
space to the above remarks of the people around 
this locality, who show such fine bodies and mus- 




A CASCO WITH NATIVES FISHING. 


















THE PROVINCE OF BENGUET. 183 

cles, that one cannot but watch their movements 
with admiration. If I were to live in Manila, a 
month of each year would be taken for a vacation 
in the mountains of Beuguet. The fruits and veg¬ 
etables, sparkling spring water, and coffee that is 
coffee, not forgetting the varieties of flowers that 
beautify the surroundings would give a zest to life 
and renewed health and strength to an enervated 
man. 

Mr. Sheerer was with us constantly during the 
short stop at Bauang, and as we started off, he 
joined us as far as the river, returning after our 
having put the equipment and servants on the 
ferry, which was the last I saw of him. 

The first stop was made at the village of Caba, 
but only long enough to get a fresh relay of horses, 
and we continued to Aringay and found it neces¬ 
sary to engage caribao to cross the river at that 
place. We continued the journey in a clear, hot 
morning, the sun coming out in almost burning 
fierceness, and at noon, November 18, we reached 
Santo Tomas, passing the village of Agoo on the 
road. 

After lunching with the local officials, who 
seemed much absorbed in a letter just received 
from a Frenchman in Manila making inquiries 
about purchasing tobacco, we discussed the means 


i8 4 


THROUGH LUZON. 


of transportation to Dagupan. The land between 
Santo Tomas and Dagupan is very low, the roads 
heavy, and the easiest way to cover the distance 
was by water; we accordingly took a native sail 
boat or proa, to make the passage to San Fabian, 
the natives fearing to cross the bar at Dagupan, 
and we proceeded to our destination through a 
protected inlet of the sea. 

Traveling in native boats is the most uncom¬ 
fortable means of transportation in the island In 
any kind of a sea they are dangerous, and the space 
for one to occupy is so cramped, the passenger 
must remain doubled up under a heavy covering 
of palm leaves for a deck, and should any accident 
happen, no chance of egress could be had in time 
to save himself. To spend several hours in such a 
boat is decidedly more fatiguing than an all-dav’s 
trip on foot. 

Along our route lay great beds of nipa, or palms, 
most of them being tapped to draw the sap into 
bamboo cups that hung on the stalks of the plants. 
This was gathered daily and carried to a distillery 
where nipa, a sort of wine or liquor, was made. The 
extent of these nipa beds was for miles, sufficient 
to produce an unlimited quantity of the liquor, 
but as far as I could observe the natives were tem¬ 
perate in their use of it. 


THE PROVINCE OF BENGUET. 


185 

Our landing place was close to a distillery and 
in waiting for a cart to carry us farther on, the 
proprietor explained the process of converting the 
sap into the article for commerce. When first dis¬ 
tilled or boiled it has a taste similar to lemonade, 
but fermentation greatly increases the percentage 
of alcohol. 

Late in the evening a conveyance was sent down 
from Dagupan, carrying us to that place, the end 
of the railroad, which we were to take the follow¬ 
ing day. 

Senor Pedro y Torres was the Commandante 
at Dagupan, a man of suave and complaisant 
attitude when we met him, but it all be lied 
his true character, which I later learned to be 
most vicious and barbarous. He was occupying 
the house of the former Spanish official, who was 
there at the time, but in the role of a prisoner of 
war. This Spaniard was a military officer and 
seemed in his conversation not at all disturbed 
about his condition, being well fed and the side¬ 
board still contained a goodly supply of such li¬ 
quors as suited his taste, the remnants of his own 
selection. 

It was necessary to remain over night in order 
to get the train in the morning. The Comman¬ 
dante realized this, and offered a room with two 


186 


THROUGH LUZON. 


beds in it, and also dinner, both of which were ac¬ 
cepted. As our baggage, what little then re¬ 
mained, was left to come down a few days later, I 
asked Senor Torres to allow my boy Pedro to 
remain until it arrived and bring it to Manila. He 
consented, and promised to take good care of the 
servant. I had no sooner left Dagupan than this 
scoundrel lashed the poor boy to a bed post with 
a three strand piece of rope, and kept him in that 
position for three days. Pedro finally extricated 
himself by an ingenious method, got the baggage 
under way and reached Manila. When he reported 
to me, his arms were lacerated from the shoulders 
to his elbows, the rope having cut the skin a quar¬ 
ter of an inch, leaving the raw flesh exposed. He 
was subjected to this barbarous treatment simply 
because he was the servant of American naval of¬ 
ficers. I was anxious to interview Senor Torres, 
but my time was too limited. To the credit of the 
Filipinos I will say this was the only instance where 
any of my party were mistreated on the entire trip. 

We found a train could be had at Dagupan al¬ 
lowing a stop at Bayambang, which we took, and 
there met again our kind host, Mr. Clark. He 
persuaded us to remain over night, and it was 
pleasant to accept his hospitality a second time, 
because an Englishman always makes himself 



A NATIVE FRUIT CARRIER 















THE PROVINCE OF BENGUET. 189 

comfortable, and likewise his guests in any coun¬ 
try, however remote. Mr. Clark expressed sur¬ 
prise at our return without mishap. After a de¬ 
licious breakfast in the morning, we took the train 
for the last time, and enjoyed passing through the 
thickly settled provinces on the way to Manila, 
arriving there in the afternoon of November 20th, 
going to the Hotel Lalla Ary. I found that Cap¬ 
tain Whiting was at the Hotel Oriente, where I 
reported to him, and in the morning on board the 
“Monadnock.” 

The most pleasant duty was to report to Ad¬ 
miral Dewey on the “Olympia” that we had accom¬ 
plished the object of our leave of absence. The 
Admiral received us most kindly and expressed 
great interest in our verbal report. It certainly is 
one of the greatest pleasures of naval life to have 
the approval of one’s acts by an officer for whom 
one has the highest admiration and respect, as we 
have for Admiral Dewey. 

I still had my original party scattered over the 
island, and the next few days was occupied in 
rounding them up. First came a servant from 
Dagupan, and then the horses by steamer from 
Aparri. I had to personally attend to unloading 
them, the first mate not just knowing the proper 
manner; so we rigged up a heavy sling and hoist- 
11 


190 


THROUGH LUZON. 


ed them out and lowered them on the deck. Cap¬ 
tain Randolph of the Third Artillery had kindly 
offered to let one of his men to take charge of 
them. They were a hard looking lot, but after a 
few days feeding on molasses and sacate, or green 
grass, their condition was good enough to be of¬ 
fered for sale and were purchased by the Quar¬ 
termasters’ Department of the Army. 

It was with more than ordinary regret I dis¬ 
missed the men who had faithfully followed us, one 
more particularly, who was very anxious to go with 
us to the United States. I feared if he came it 
would not be long until homesickness crept into 
his thoughts and make him useless. 

Thus ended a trip through the heart of Luzon, 
on highways and byways and waterways. In a 
month and a half we had traveled over seven hun¬ 
dred and fifty miles of territory, much of which 
was known to few who had personally seen it. All 
sorts of means of transportation were required, by 
railway, on horseback, by native boats and rafts, 
with steers and buffaloes, by steamer, in native 
carriages, and not the least important, on foot. 

The hardest part of the whole distance was from 
San Jose to Puncan, over a trail in the mountains, 
during a heavy rain all day, when we had to throw 
the reins over the horses’ saddles and let them 


THE PROVINCE OF BENGUET. 191 

make the best of their way, as we did, on foot. Not 
a stitch of clothing was dry, and by sleeping in 
these wet things it brought on dysentery, a prev¬ 
alent and dangerous disease in the Philippines. 

We had crossed the Caraballo Mountains, the 
dividing line for rivers running south into Manila 
Bay and north into the Pacific Ocean, and down 
the extensive valley of the Rio Grande de Caga¬ 
yan. The nights were generally cool, though the 
sun when it came out was almost unbearable dur¬ 
ing the middle of the day. The rivers, so numer¬ 
ous, caused a display of courage in crossing some 
of the flooded streams, and my companion, Naval 
Cadet Sargent, with unflinching resolution, would 
plunge his horse into a current of six and seven 
miles an hour, as an example to the whole party. 

. He was full of endurance, fearlessness, and bravery, 
never weary, and without him the trip would not 
have been completed, I fear. 

Down the entire west coast a more advanced 
condition of life obtains than in the less frequented 
districts of the Valley of the Rio Grande. Houses 
are more substantially built; conveniences for 
home life are more easily obtainable. Roads are 
good in most places, except the bridges, and com¬ 
munication with the outside world frequent and 
not difficult. 


192 


THROUGH LUZON. 


In the northern half of Luzon variety of climate 
is found, from very warm at the sea level to very 
cool in the greater altitudes, some of which reach 
seven thousand feet. 

For any one who seeks this country, he can with 
well directed energy and perseverance, blaze his 
way into a suitable climate, and doubtless find a 
livelihood with comparative ease. 


CHAPTER XII. 


THE MILITARY ELEMENT. 


T HE Philippine officers both military and 
civil, that we met in all the provinces vis¬ 
ited, with very few exceptions, were men 
of intelligent appearance and conversation. The 
same is true of all those men who form the upper 
class in each town. The education of most of them 
is limited, but they appear to sieze every opportun¬ 
ity to improve it. They have great respect and 
admiration for learning. Very many of them de¬ 
sired to send their children to schools in the 
United States or Europe, and many men of im¬ 
portance in different towns have told us that the 
first use to be made of the revenue of their gov¬ 
ernment, after there was no more danger of war, 
was to start good schools in every village. The 
poorer classes are extremely ignorant on most 
subjects, but a large percentage of them can raed 
and write. There is a very marked line between 
these two classes, and this has been broadened by 


193 


i 9 4 


THROUGH LUZON. 


the insurrection, for the reason that military offi¬ 
cers must equip themselves without pay, and that 
civil officers have numerous expenses for which 
they receive no return. All officers, civil and mil¬ 
itary, have therefore been chosen from the richer 
classes ; and the political and military power of the 
provinces is in the hands of that element. The 
private soldiers are fed and clothed by the govern¬ 
ment and allowed a very small amount of spend¬ 
ing money in the western provinces, 30 cents in 
silver per week. 

In the provinces of the east that we visited there 
appears to be little or no friction between the civil 
and military classes. Officers and privates, as far 
as we could observe, treat civilians with considera¬ 
tion. In the provinces of Ilocos Sur and Union 
there is a marked difference. The officers were 
more domineering. In traveling in these prov¬ 
inces we had many opportunities to observe this 
attitude. When accidents happened to our car¬ 
riage the officer commanding our escort called to 
our assistance every native in sight, and if they did 
not answer his call promptly, we saw him strike 
them with his riding whip. One man had a ser¬ 
ious wound on his face where an officer had struck 
him with his pistol butt; he came to us for redress 
after having appealed in vain to the military offi- 


THE MILITARY ELEMENT. 


*95 


cer in command of the town. An order from Don 
Emilio Aguinaldo, dated October 18, 1898, calls 
the attention of his officers to the evils of this prac¬ 
tice and ordered them to correct it in themselves 
and to instruct all sergeants corporals and privates 
on the attitude they should maintain toward civil¬ 
ians. 

Of the large number of officers, civil and mili¬ 
tary, and of leading townspeople we met, nearly 
every man expressed in our presence his sentiments 
upon the question of independence. \They desire 
the protection of the United States at sea, but fear 
any interference on land. )^The question of the re¬ 
muneration of our government for the expense of 
establishing a protectorate was never touched 
upon. On this subject of independence there is, 
again, a marked difference between the four prov¬ 
inces first visited and those of Ilocos Sur and La 
Union. In the former there was more enthusiasm, 
the sentiment was more of the people; in the lat¬ 
ter it was that of the higher class and of the army. 
In some provinces I saw signs of actual discontent 
with the existing state of things. 

There was much variety of feeling among the 
natives with regard to the debt of gratitude that 
they owed the United States. In every town I 
found men who said our nation had saved them 


196 


THROUGH LUZON. 


from slavery, and others who claimed that without 
our interference their independence would have 
been recognized. v < On one point they seemed 
united, viz.: that whatever our government may 
have done for them it had not gained the right to 
annex them. ^They had been prejudiced against 
us by the Spaniards. The charges made were so 
numerous and so severe that what the natives had 
since learned was not sufficient to disillusion them. 
With regard to our policy toward a subject people, 
they had received remarkable information on two 
points; that we have mercilessly slain and finally 
exterminated the race of Indians that were native 
to our soil, and that we went to war in 1861 to sup¬ 
press an insurrection of negro slaves whom we also 
ended by extermination. Intelligent and well in¬ 
formed men have believed these charges. They 
were rehearsed to us in many towns in different 
provinces, beginning at Malolos. The Spanish ver¬ 
sion of our Indian problem is particularly well 
known. 

Y^The Philippine government had an organized 
military force in every province we visited^They 
claim it extended also into Ilocos Norte, Abra, 
Lepanto, Bontoc, and Benguet. With regard to 
its existence in Ilocos and Benguet I can speak 
with assurance. 


THE MILITARY ELEMENT. 


197 


We met two officers with the rank of captain 
who were regularly stationed at Laoag, the capital 
ciy of Ilocos Norte, and also the commandante of 
the province of Benguet. The latter officer had 
come to San Fernando to obtain instructions from 
General Tino, and was about to return to Trinidad, 
the capital of that province. The number of troops 
under arms can only be given approximately. 
There were comparatively few in Neuva Ecija; an 
estimated number of not over three hundred. In 
the military district embracing the province of 
Neuva Vizcaya, Isabela and Cagayan, Colonel Tir- 
ona, Commandante Leyba, and Commandante Vil¬ 
la agreed in giving the number of soldiers under 
arms actually, as 2,000. 

An estimate, founded on the size of the garrisons 
in the town we visited, would bring the number 
nearly up to that figure. In the western military 
districts the forces were about double that number, 
leaving out those stationed in the interior provinces 
of Abra, Lepanto and Bontoc, of which I know 
nothing positively. In the coast provinces of Ilocos 
Norte, Ilocos Sur and Union, a conservative esti¬ 
mate of forces is 3,500. In most pueblos the garri¬ 
son was but little larger than those in the towns of 
the western districts; but there were many bar¬ 
rios, each one of which had its guard of soldiers, 


198 


THROUGH LUZON. 


never less than twelve. In the eastern military 
district we met not more than twenty-five officers 
and in the western district over sixty. There were 
rifles enough for all, principally Remingtons, but 
many Mausers. In every cuartel there were at 
least as many rifles as there were soldiers in the 
garrison. The arms are more numerous in the 
eastern than in the western provinces, and it is safe 
to estimate the number of rifles in the eastern dis¬ 
trict as at least twice the number of soldiers. Com- 
mandante Villa and other officers made the 
statement that 40,000 rifles were being distributed 
among the people of that district, but we saw no 
proof of this statement. Ammunition was said to 
be plentiful, and it appeared so from the fact that 
the soldiers used it freely in hunting for deer. 

With regard to the total force of the Philippine 
army, actual and reserve, I cannot speak from my 
knowledge. Colonel Tirona claimed that 200,000 
men from all the islands could be put in the field 
well armed, and several other officers independent¬ 
ly gave the same figure. Every officer that we saw 
carried a Spanish sword and revolver. They wear 
these weapons constantly, but regard them with 
contempt, prefering the bolo at close quarters. The 
“Philippina,” which was at Aparri during our visit 
carried two guns of a caliber of about three inches. 


THE MILITARY ELEMENT. 


199 


These w^re the only guns we saw, with the excep¬ 
tion of two revolving cannons in the palacio of 
Malolos. The Spanish had left numerous stock¬ 
ades in the wilder regions, and the natives built a 
few others. There were also numerous barricades 
thrown up during the insurrection, but in the 
towns the Spaniards defended themselves in the 
houses for want of other protection. The military 
spirit pervaded in the eastern district, where every 
town and barrio had organized companies of its 
children, which were being drilled under arms. 
The officers have had no military education except 
that which they gained during the insurrection. 
Spanish drill tactics were used, and most of the of¬ 
ficers were still studying the elementary text book. 


CHAPTER XIII. 


IN CONCLUSION. 


F EW comprehended the extent of the Island 
of Luzon. The Spaniards wrote but little 
about it, and one of their writers says the 
Germans have more complete books and a better 
library concerning the island than Spain itself. The 
interior has been neglected in the researches al¬ 
ready made, by most authors, but Manila is well 
known and fully described; the mode of life and 
the inhabitants are familiar to those who have tak¬ 
en an interest in the archipelago. While the hab¬ 
its of the people seem so different from those in 
colder latitudes, a short residence in the torrid 
zone induces one to easily fall into the ways which 
are customary in tropical spheres. The usual sies¬ 
ta in the middle of the day is a means of avoiding 
the heat of the sun, but when one considers it, 
there is just so much to be accomplished daily, and 
it really doesn’t matter whether the hours selected 
are very early in the morning and late in the eve- 


200 


IN CONCLUSION. 


201 


ning with a rest during the most trying part of 
the twenty-four hours, or the regulation period of 
more northern climes. 

As to the character of the natives, it is much the 
same in all parts of Luzon, though in sentiment 
there .is a wide range, as would naturally be the 
case among different classes of people in any coun¬ 
try. Local conditions influence their feelings in 
such a manner, that what would be beneficial for 
one district might be the opposite for another. 

The women are generally hard-working, amia¬ 
ble, meek and attentive to their duties. Some 
handle a needle with exquisite ease and skill, mak¬ 
ing rare handkerchiefs of the pina cloth of great 
value, specimens of which having been sold for 
three and four hundred dollars; the texture so fine 
a magnifying glass only bringing out the delicacy 
of the innumerable threads. The incessant weeks 
of labor on these articles only shows how atten¬ 
tive and zealous these women are in their indus¬ 
try. 

The men, considering the climate, are good 
workers, and like human beings the world over, 
instinctively adjust themselves to conditions pro¬ 
vided by nature. They are not phlegmatic, but ra¬ 
ther nervous and active. In the in teri or I found 
them to possess great endurance, carrying heavy 




202 


THROUGH LUZON. 


loads on their backs all day and sleeping but little 
at night. 

Mestizos, or the class with foreign and native 
blood, form an exceedingly important part of the 
population, one authority claiming there are a half 
million of Chinese Mestizos, but this is questioned, 
although this mixture is by far the greatest pro¬ 
portion of the whole. Chinese marry native 
women and have large families, and after some 
years’ residence—when sufficient wealth is accum¬ 
ulated—-it is but with few exceptions they don’t 
abandon them and return to China. The Chinese 
Mestizo is generally shrewder in business than oth¬ 
ers of mixed blood. 

The soil is deep and rich, frequent rains washing 
into the valleys and plains a ceaseless supply of fer¬ 
tilization, but the methods of cultivation are crude, 
being done by the easy going caribao dragging a 
plow made of a sharpened stick sometimes pointed 
with a piece of iron. In the plains of the provinces 
of Isabela and Cagayan there remain great tracts 
of virgin soil, nothing but wild grass filling a large 
part of this vast area of nearly three million and 
a half acres of teritory. No part is very dif¬ 
ficult of access, the Rio Grande and other naviga¬ 
ble streams furnishing a waterway to the sea. 


IN CONCLUSION. 


203 


The forests are extensive and valuable, having 
been but little drawn upon up to the present time, 
and scarcely penetrated in many localities. There 
are various kinds of hard woods with specific grav¬ 
ity so great they will, no]: .float, but the widely dis¬ 
tributed bamboo—and rattan as a substitute for 
nails—and the fronds of the nipa palm for roofs, 
furnish the principal material for construction, and 
these are as ceaselessly supplied by nature as cease¬ 
lessly taken away. 

In the mountains there is much to be discovered, 
but as to mineral wealth I am not assured the pros¬ 
pect is inviting for development of large bodies of 
ores in paying quantities. From the “Guia offi¬ 
cial” I translate the following in regard to the geo¬ 
logy of the island: 

“The geological study of the Philippines com¬ 
menced some years ago, but has been followed in 
a dilatory way for lack of personal and other means 
of completing it. Up to the present, only some 
partial studies have been published, generally those 
relating to volcanic action, and the uncompleted 
work of the Islands of Cebu and Panay, together 
with that which is being finished of the central part 
of Luzon. 

“With the scanty data which is now available an 
idea can hardly be formed of the geology of the 


204 


THROUGH LUZON. 


islands. It is know that in the archipelago there 
exists crystalline slates, represented by gneiss, talc, 
mica and others, with very old eruptive rocks, such 
as diorite and diabase. It is also known that there 
are tertiary formations composed of conglomer¬ 
ates, gravel, clay and lime, with coal and numer¬ 
ous volcanic formations, as well as tertiary and con¬ 
temporaneous, characterized by trachyte, andesite 
and basalt, with spongy stone of these same rocks; 
and those alluvial and diluvial. No evidence is 
found at the present time that leads to the certain¬ 
ty of the presence of rocks comprised between the 
crystalline and tertiary periods, and therefore it is 
supposed that during the long process of time of 
these geological epochs, the islands were composed 
of other smaller ones, which were united to form 
those known to-day of greater size. 

“For example. Luzon was once represented by 
three islands in the form of a horseshoe, consisting 
of the Caraballo and Sierra Madre Mountains. 
During the tertiary epoch, the volcanic action 
commenced to manifest itself with colossal mag¬ 
nitude, forming the Cordilleras and Mountains of 
Marivels and not only deposited enormous quan¬ 
tities of volcanic scoria, but elevated the sub¬ 
merged surroundings of the ancient coast of the 
crystalline islands and coral reefs, to the altitude of 








>' 



PLOWING WITH THE CARABAO 















IN CONCLUSION. 


207 


4,000 feet, which is found at Trinidad, the capital 
of Benguet. All of this volcanic material, sedi¬ 
mentary and coral, produced a union of the three 
small islands of Luzon, as also it must have united 
others similar in Panay and the large islands of the 
archipelago; but at the same time forming a multi¬ 
tude of smaller ones, purely volcanic, or of coral 
reefs, giving the Philippines its present geological 
aspect/’ 

Of the numerous products of the soil it can be 
said they flourish amazingly. Rice, corn and veg¬ 
etables are grown for local consumption; those for 
export are of great importance, hemp and sugar 
leading, followed by tobacco and copra, (the dried 
meat of the cocoanut) which is much in demand 
for oil and making fine soaps and cosmetics. The 
ripe fruit of the cocoanut is made into large rafts 
and floated down the rivers to market, and the 
groves of these palms are a very profitable source 
of revenue. A man with one of these groves can 
sit under his own ‘Vine and fig tree” and watch 
nature, the worker, making him. richer day by day 
with no effort on his part. 

Cocoa and coffee do not exceed much the local 
requirements of the people at present, notwith¬ 
standing how well adapted the soil in the foot 
hills is for the growing of these two almost neces¬ 
sary articles of commerce. 

12 


208 


THROUGH LUZON. 


Quite as interesting, if not so largely exploited, 
is the pineapple fiber, from which delicate pina 
cloth is woven. The threads, or hairs, are exceed¬ 
ingly fine, and after careful preparation are put 
upon a rough hand loom, the fabric produced being 
the most exquisite that can be had for the finest 
embroidered handkerchiefs and women’s dresses. 
Some of the specimens exhibited for sale in Ma¬ 
nila are so valuable as to be worth many, many 
times their weight in gold. I saw a woman at 
work on a piece of pina in a frame, the windows 
being closed to keep the stirring air from moving 
the threads, so delicate were they. She told me 
of having already worked six months on this and it 
was yet a year before finally completed; this piece 
not more than a foot and a half square. How 
much it would stimulate the gathering of this fiber 
by sending it to the United States for manufacture 
on modern looms, remains to be proven by actual 
experiment. 

Horses, cattle and sheep seem to flourish with 
scarcely no attention whatever, grass being every¬ 
where as plentiful as water. The carabao is the 
working animal, Providence having selected this 
beast as peculiarly fitted for the soil and climate. 
Where the land is dry the native has a pond or 
mud hole for the carabao to lie in during the time 


IN CONCLUSION. 


209 


his owner is enjoying a siesta, and they work most 
harmoniously together with a seeming mysterious 
understanding one of the other. 

Good roads are the greatest crying need of the 
island, and some sort of poll tax to aid construction 
is a necessary means of cheapening the cost of 
transportation from the fields to market. They 
can’t be built in a day, but a regularly planned sys¬ 
tem of highways connecting important points, is 
a certain means of rapid development, as shown by 
the condition of the towns on the road built along 
the west coast by the Spanish government many 
years ago, when Spain must have forgotten herself 
in a moment of intelligent thought. Our New 
England ancestors appreciated this by the post¬ 
roads still in use in some eastern states, a monu¬ 
ment to their foresight. 

I have emphasized the great need of railways, 
and it is so pressing the government may find itself 
justified in aiding the building of a main line 
through the interior. It would be hailed with de¬ 
light by the native inhabitants, who are fond of 
traveling from place to place in seach of amuse¬ 
ment, or spending their money in new and novel 
ways. It would thereby bring them into close 
knowledge of each other, and thus learn of what¬ 
ever advancement is in progress, in different com- 


210 


THROUGH LUZON. 


munities, to say nothing of the commercial ad¬ 
vantages derived from opening large tracts of ara¬ 
ble territory for the development of which a vast 
amount of American machinery would be necessa¬ 
ry. I think it is admitted that the railroad is the 
greatest of all civilizers. 

An important matter, not to be forgotten, is the 
rapid spread of the English language by railway 
building. Business being done and accounts kept 
in English will perforce induce the native to has¬ 
tily acquire it for obtaining employment, as they 
have Spanish. 

Manila is one of the most important shipping 
ports in the far east, and it would seem a good base 
for a starting point for spreading American influ¬ 
ence and commerce throughout the whole conti¬ 
guous countries of the orient. 

It is difficult to form a distinct idea of whatever 
territory of the tropics, says some writer, without 
having visited it and gone through the forests and 
vegetation, the most gigantic and magnificent of 
the east, where the panorama of nature shows at 
each step innumerable pictures of grandure that 
exist, and when once seen, never forgotten. 

Many points are favorable in Luzon for man, in 
passing his dreamy life away in full fruition of ease 
and comfort, in whose happy clime his needs grow 



«r 



















IN CONCLUSION. 


*13 

at his doorway where hunger, and cold, misery and 
want, are unknown quantities. 

As to the future condition of the island, there 
are a dozen theories. But time is a great healer of 
political wounds, and I incline to the belief that at 
no very distant date this problem will be properly 
solved by the good judgment of the people of the 
United States as represented by those in authority. 


CHAPTER XIV. 


APPENDIX. 

T HE views of an Englishman, long a resident 
of Manila, published the following in a 
newspaper of that city, and also gave val¬ 
uable evidence before the Philippine Commission. 
His views are so concise I have added them to this 
book. He says: * * * The power of the priests 
is now gone, and Spanish rule follows in its wake 
as an impossibility under the present circum¬ 
stances. From the foregoing and owing to the in¬ 
nate corruption in the administration of the colo¬ 
ny's resources, the rebellion of August, 1896, in 
progress for ten years previously, broke out, and 
might have overturned the government then but 
for weak leading, and the unpreparedness of the 
rebels to fight, as the Spanish in all the islands, a 
large proportion of them in Mindanao, only num¬ 
bered 3,000, their other forces consisting of some 
14,000 natives; a strong hand could, however, 
nipped the thing in the bud there and then, but 


APPENDIX. 


2'5 

the Governor General, Blanco, was mildly disposed 
and with the few whites at his command and fear¬ 
ing a rising among his natives, he looked upon 
discretion as the better part of valor until he 
should get reinforcements from the Mother Coun¬ 
try to enable him to dispense with the services of 
the natives troops, the disaffected among them be¬ 
ing in the meantime disarmed. 

His policy was not universally approved, and his 
opponents plotted at court and got him removed. 
Shortly thereafter his successor, Polavieja, turned 
up with some reinforcements,but they were raw re¬ 
cruits that had to be drilled into shape and while 
they were being prepared the rebels were strongly 
intrenching themselves, chiefly in the province of 
Cavite. It required energetic measures to dis¬ 
lodge them, but Polavieja was equal to the occa¬ 
sion, and after going at them vigorously, a hue and 
cry of “cruelty” was put forth by the priests and 
their friends and he in his turn was recalled. 

Then followed the famous Primo de Revera who 
arrived in April, 1897. He took effective meas¬ 
ures to quell the insurrection and succeeded well, 
but his finishing stroke was most unfortunate. He 
got tired of the country and wished to go to Spain, 
but with a feather in his cap for effectually closing 
the rebellion, so he got instructions from Madrid 


*i6 THROUGH LUZON. 

to adopt, at his discretion, one of two alternatives, 
force or buying off the rebels for laying down their 
arms. As bad luck would have it he chose the lat¬ 
ter, while the other was quite feasible, the few dis¬ 
banded insurgents having been reduced almost to 
the last extremity, no food, but few arms, and no 
money to go on with a more favorable opportunity 
to settle the thing for many years to come could 
hardly present itself. But as is “charitably” sur¬ 
mised, the paying off suited Primo’s pocket better 
than the other alternative, and he concluded the 
celebrated “Pacto de Bic-na-Bato,” the full text of 
which was kept secret, but the contents oozed out 
gradually, the principal item being, after the ex¬ 
pulsion of the friars, a cash payment of $800,000, 
one-half in Hong Kong and the balance in the 
Philippines, upon the few remaining rebels laying 
down their arms, the leaders, thirty-five to forty 
in number, agreeing to reside outside the island 
and not to return without the consent of the Phil¬ 
ippine government in due form, six months from 
December, 1897, being allowed to either side to 
complete the contract. The government placed 
the Hong Kong half of the money at Aguinaldo’s 
disposal in due course, but how the other half went 
seems not to have been satisfactorily explained; 
possibly Primo or some tarry-fingered gentleman 


APPENDIX. 


n 

in his confidence could tell. Anyhc *v, trie money 
is said to have left the treasury, and many of the 
rebels are said to have complained of not getting 
their share. The expulsion of the friars was vetoed 
from Madrid, and the Hong Kong portion of the 
bribe, partly at least, were used by the rebels to 
purchase fresh arms with which to prosecute the 
rebellion. 

Before the six months were up, each side accus¬ 
ing the other of non-fulfillment of the compact, the 
rebellion started again with more vigor than ever. 
Meantime Don Primo was relieved, but ordered to 
await the arrival of his successor, Signor Augustin, 
and after Augustine’s arrival, was, in view of his 
having cried “peace, peace, when there was no 
peace,” ordered to await further instructions from 
the Supreme government before quitting the coun¬ 
try. Don Primo telegraphed, asking if the order 
was imperative, but without giving time for a re¬ 
ply he embarked by the direct boat for Spain, leav¬ 
ing poor Augustin in the pickle of having to cope 
with the rebels and the declaration of war by 
America a few hours later. The man naturally 
considered himself “sold,” and Primo landed in 
Barcelona “incog,” his present whereabouts being 
uncertain. He is said to have denied, at home, 
having made an alleged compact with the rebels, 


213 


THROUGH LUZON. 


but that he did make it there is no doubt what¬ 
ever, while he flunked facing the consequences. 

The next big mistake made in this rebel business 
was by the Americans in having had anything to 
do with Aguinaldo, and the mistake will at once be 
apparent when it can be demonstrated as clear as 
daylight that the Americans could have done all 
they did without any rebel aid. Now, however, 
it is not quite so easy to get rid of the inconvenient 
connection—Aguinaldo, a deified, ignorant Indian 
with a swollen head, but empty for all practical 
purposes. Timidity verging on cowardice is his 
chief characteristic. He never fought a battle in 
his life, and is afraid to leave his room for fear of 
being “knifed” by some kind countryman whom 
he has wronged. A further mistake was in letting 
him have any part in reducing the Spaniards in 
their trenches or in the entrance upon the taking 
of Manila on the 13th of August. Before this day 
the rebels should have been ordered away at least 
ten miles and their arms taken from them, fasten¬ 
ing them down to accomplished facts as they 
are no more fit to govern than “a flock of goats” 
would be. 

The chiefs of the rebels are pettyfogging law¬ 
yers known among them as “abogadilles,” hang¬ 
ers on at the petty courts, stirring up strife among 


APPENDIX. 


219 


the litigants to encourage suits and considered a 
“pest to the colony,” as their aim is to squeeze as 
much money as possible out of the lieges with the 
least possible labor to themselves. This life has 
inured them to the idea that as they are of the 
“learned professions, ” it would be infra dig to 
work. It would be a fine thing to have a native 
government with a post in it where they could rob 
and steal ad lib., and live on the fat of the land at 
the public expense. It is needless to say that the 
end would be very shortly that of the “Kilkenny 
Cats” without a doubt. It would be a mistake to 
temporize with people of such low intelligence, as 
they cannot understand leniency from Europeans 
unless on the supposition that it is due to fear. In 
the great Indian mutiny the British were severely 
criticised the world over for blowing rebels from 
the cannon's mouth, but it was the only way, and 
their sway has been ever since undisturbed, prac¬ 
tically governing 250,000,000 with an army of 
only 70,000, including Sepoys, Sikhs, Goorkhs and 
Europeans. The Spaniards should have been se¬ 
verer in discipline while just in treatment, and then 
these wretched semi-savages would not have got¬ 
ten the upper hand. 

The proportions reached by the present rising is 
without doubt due to encouragement at the begin- 


220 


'THROUGH LUZON. 


ning from the Americans, and the situation thus 
created imposes upon them the obligation of re¬ 
storing order and of not leaving the islands unless 
replaced by a strong government of Europeans, 
that of Spain being out of the question, and the 
natives might be ripe for such a responsibility 
about the year 2000, i. e., when the present and 
three more generations shall have disappeared, it 
being calculated that this time is necessary to erad¬ 
icate the pernicious effects of priestly rule, a uni¬ 
formly immoral administration in church and state, 
and to spread sound education and teach habits of 
honest industry among the people. 

A great writer described the Spaniards generally 
as “full of honor without honesty, full of religion 
without morality, and full of pride without any¬ 
thing to be proud of,” and the average native may 
be said to have picked up and appropriated all that 
is bad in the European and nothing of the good, 
being adept at lying, stealing, gambling, and all 
other vices imaginable, with indolence to a fault, 
good dancers and a good ear for music. There are 
a good few, it is true, who are peaceable workers, 
and these are an exception to the general descrip¬ 
tion here given. Many make useful and efficient 
clerks in merchant’s offices, banks and other places 
of business. Some are capital imitators of Euro- 

































A TYPE OF NATIVE 























APPENDIX. 


223 


pean art in silver and gold work, wood carving, 
etc., and there are thousands of good agricultural 
laborers throughout these islands. As a fighter 
not much can be said for him in a face to face en¬ 
counter, his fortress being the “bolo” and stabbing 
in the back, and why the Spaniards did not put 
down the rising at the outset can be only due to 
the latter having forgotten, if they ever knew, what 
modern warfare is, as in the last five months their 
bearing so much lauded consisted in their hiding 
in trenches, much of their time up to their hinder 
parts in water, to be “swiped” by the rebels, who 
from behind clumps of bamboos show their fiercest 
fire by letting off Chinese crackers at night time, 
never showing face during the day. The Span¬ 
iards at starting, in the most innocent fashion, al¬ 
lowed themselves to be surrounded by the rebels, 
who made prisoners of this big half of their force 
of about 12,000, and then they had too few left to 
attack, and could only be on the defensive, and re¬ 
turning from trench to trench before the Indians, 
the cry being “The Spaniards retreating, retreat¬ 
ing—the natives advancing, advancing.” 

Now the Americans are in possession of these 
much coveted islands, this problem comes to be 
how best to turn this valuable acquisition to ac¬ 
count, and at a glance it will be seen that the re- 


224 


THROUGH LUZON. 


bellion once got under and the rebels disarmed— 
a sine qua non—as at present there are two gov¬ 
ernments in full swing, the rebels ruling and col¬ 
lecting all taxes from the outskirts of Manila into 
the interior, and the Americans the few taxes of 
the city and port, a state of things that cannot be 
allowed to last much longer; it will not answer to 
attempt a government on western lines and ideas 
right off, as habits and customs of three centuries 
old can not well be changed in a day, and it will 
be necessary to introduce new reforms gradually, 
dovetailing such as far as possible with existing 
systems. 

What would of course suit this country is, of 
course, the “open door,” which has given such ad¬ 
mirable results in Singapore, the Straits Settle¬ 
ments and Hong Kong, the last named only a bar¬ 
ren rock at the start, but now the third shipping 
port of the world. The policy recommended would 
therefore be no custom house, no coast guard, thus 
saving a vast amount in the expense of govern¬ 
ment. 

In regard to foreign labor, there is no question 
of competing with American labor here, being no 
such in the country, nor can there be, the climate 
prohibiting that, so the reported prohibition of 
Chinese immigration seems inexplicable, and the 


APPENDIX. 


2 25 


law in force in the United States is certainly mis¬ 
applied in the Philippines, where cheap labor and 
plenty of it is their lifeblood. This will be seen 
where a large proportion of the crops, sugar and 
other produce is left in the field from want of hands 
to gather them. 

These islands, as will be seen, are very sparsely 
populated. Luzon of a larger area than England, 
having only 3 1-2 millions all told, or a little over 
one-tenth of England’s figure. There is room for 
three to four millions of Chinese comfortably, 
whilst only 200,000 are the present estimate. The 
place cannot get on without them, and were any 
road making, railway or agriculture work being 
done, at least a million Chinese would be absorbed 
right off. It seems ridiculous that when the Hong 
Kong scale of wages is as follows, viz.: Coolies, 25 
to 30 cts. a day, carpenters 50 to 60 cts., while the 
rate here is 75 cts., $1.25 to $1.40, respectively. 
Since immigration stopped a first class cook in 
Hong Kong gets $12 to $15, and here an indiffer¬ 
ent one $30 to $35 a month. 

The mire Pasig dredged out to the mouth of 
the lake and points cut down to make the naviga¬ 
tion easy for decent passenger steamers, would im¬ 
mediately attract capital to put on daily, morning 
and evening service, which the populace could 


226 


THROUGH LUZON. 


and would gladly avail to pass their nights in the 
many cool spots ferrying the lake, enjoying the 
freshest of country air, the larger half of the twen¬ 
ty-four hours. Why should there be any sickness 
in this most healthful of tropical climates, when 
by an hour morning and evening in the train one 
could sleep in a temperature of 40, 50 or 60 to his 
liking? No heat in the daytime would be felt af¬ 
ter a cool night, and in a very short time this de¬ 
sirable basin of water, the “Laguna de Bay,” 25 by 
20 miles, in its greatest dimensions, would be stud¬ 
ded over with jackets and pleasure craft of any 
kind, to afford pleasureable recreation. 

The short 120-mile railway put down by Eng¬ 
lishmen gives a faint idea of what a network of 
railroads could do, but quite enough to show what 
a profitable investment such roads can be in this 
country under a liberal up-to-date government. 
Roads—good roads—and railroads would send 
these islands ahead by leaps and bounds, and ma¬ 
terial progress would be the sure precursor of the 
light of civilization shut out from these unfortun¬ 
ate parts by the most selfish and despoic of govern¬ 
ments, that of the priest and his dupes. Why 
European governments who have been for cen¬ 
turies opening up and civilizing the darkest coun¬ 
tries should have overlooked the Philippines 
seems inexplicable. 


APPENDIX. 


227 


The resources are practically unlimited, and 
when the islands shall have been fully explored and 
brought under subjection, the country will pro¬ 
bably be found to be the richest unexplored terri¬ 
tory in the known world. The explanation is the 
cursed priest-ridden government that sucked the 
life-blood out of the country now happily driven 
out forever, but unfortunately to enjoy the stolen 
millions securely invested in every safe country we 
know of. 

Let us take Luzon first to give a faint idea of 
known resources. In the north a rich and extens¬ 
ive tobacco country, where qualities equal to Cuba 
can be procured, and coming south the two Tlacos 
provinces are rich sugar and rice lands. 

In the long range of mountains practical¬ 
ly unexplored, copper, iron, gold, and other 
metals and minerals exist, with extensive pine 
forests, and land that produces exquisite pota¬ 
toes and all other vegetables, and a climate where 
no one could complain of heat nor sickness. 

In his testimony before the Philippino Commis¬ 
sion, Mr. McLeod, long a resident of Manila, made 
the following interesting statement, which I have 
considered of such importance that I wish to add 
it to this book. He says as follows: 


228 


THROUGH LUZON. 


Mr. McLeod:—You have got to make roads 
where they do not now exist, and have to make 
railways where they do not exist. This is the fin¬ 
est country for railroads that I ever saw. The 
Manila-Dagupan was a great mistake because they 
laid it too low. They went on the plans of the 
Spaniards and actually began to build on them. 
In some parts they laid rails for a mile and found 
they couldn’t go any farther and had to take an¬ 
other route, expending three or four times the 
money they ought to have with a proper survey. 
For instance they brought the line down to a big 
river at Calumpit, where, after going down 60 feet, 
they couldn’t find a solid foundation for their cais¬ 
sons, nor find any bottom there. However they 
put the bridge there and the first flood carried it 
away. They had to change the direction of the 
railway and go up the river, where they could find 
bottom, and that one mistake cost $300,000. This 
road cost about eight million dollars gold for the 
120 miles, but was guaranteed by the Spanish gov¬ 
ernment at eight per cent., or such portion of eight 
per cent, as the earnings of the company would fall 
short of that amount. I consider this the finest 
country in the world for building railways, by run¬ 
ning lines around the poulous villages from Tarlac. 
The present lack of communication is the reason 


APPENDIX. 


229 


for the country being so far behind, and the mo¬ 
ment you put in a network of railways there will be 
a nenormous improvement. I had in view a line 
of road up the mountains where a sanitorium 
could be established, at Antipolo. From Manila 
as the crow flies is about six miles. I was just go¬ 
to take a line from Manila to Santa Ana, crossing 
the river at that point and going up to San Juan 
and up to Mariquins and from there to Antipolo. 
By that means we take in the populous villages, 
where there is traffic all the time. There in May 
it is a great place for pilgrims. It is the shrine of 
the virgin, and crowds of people go there from all 
parts of the country to worship. We calculated 
that without any assistance from the government 
at all, could make it pay from this pilgrim business, 
but when the government saw that we were going 
to put down the line they exacted a deposit of a 
large amount, much larger than we had contem¬ 
plated. The elevation of Antipolo is 600 feet, but 
the hills back of it are three or four times that 
height, and the climate is superb. 

Lack of communication has been the greatest 
drawback to the Philippines, allowing vast 
stretches of fertile land to remain idle for want of 
means of getting the products to market. It has 
also caused the different dialects in each province, 


230 


THROUGH LUZON. 


and the same would develop in the United States 
in time if intermingling were prevented by roads 
and railroads, and sooner or later each state would 
have a language peculiar to itself. 

Another most important line for which I believe 
a franchise has been asked, is from Manila to Bay- 
ombong, a distance of 200 miles, and it would in¬ 
crease the product 100 per cent, through the dif¬ 
ferent provinces and not cost one-half what the 
Manila-Dagupan line did, $60,000 per mile. This 
road would eventually connect with one coming 
up the Rio Grande from Aparri on the north coast, 
passing through the enormous provinces of Caga¬ 
yan and Isabela—the former a populous district 
and rich in tobacco, corn, timber, cattle and rice. 
The major portion of tobacco of the Philippines 
comes from Isabela, and is of a superior quality. 
This great valley commences at Bagabag and the 
distance to Bayombong would not be difficult en¬ 
gineering to cross the Cordilleras. The country 
is pretty level from Aparri to the base of the 
mountains. The Cagayan valley is very extensive, 
lying between the mountains on the extreme east 
and the Cordilleras on the west, well drained and 
comparatively level, with a great expanse of till¬ 
able soil. This line in cutting through the center 
of Luzon is of great value as a means of opening 


APPENDIX. 


* 3 * 

the country and bringing the people into contact 
with each other. Freight on the existing Manila- 
Dagupan line is not so great a proportion of the 
earnings as passenger business. The people are 
very fond of the train, and the same persons go 
every day nearly; a man with a couple of chickens 
and a basket will come down and make just enough 
to go back again. There is no doubt as to the 
fertility of the soil, and seems to produce all kinds 
of things without the slightest bother. The Phil¬ 
ippines are the richest places in the East, and I 
don’t know a thing that anybody owns which is 
more valuable. 

With feeders to the main trunk line through the 
Island of Luzon, in such places as warranted it, 
treble the amount of land thereby brought under 
cultivation will increase the taxable value propor¬ 
tionately with the increased population. Wood 
for ties lay all along the projected route and labor 
is cheap, these Indians working for 32 cents silver 
a day or about half that, 16 cents in gold. The In¬ 
dian is a fairly good worker when not in competi¬ 
tion with the Chinaman. The Chinese are an ever¬ 
lasting source of trouble and one thoroughly dis¬ 
liked by all natives. They have caused dissent 
equal to that on the Pacific slope of the United 
States. You find him everywhere in the provinces 


232 


THROUGH LUZON. 


as small store keeper and peddlers; a curious fea¬ 
ture is, being so despised by the men, they marry 
Philippine women, first becoming Catholics to do 
so, and have large families, which they desert and 
return to China in a few years after accumulating a 
small fortune. As little as the Indian lives on, the 
Chinaman can subsist on less, and never spends a 
cent in the country, but any money he makes is at 
once remitted to China. In many places they won't 
have Chinese at all, but the Spaniards allowed 
them to come in by paying $50 or $100. They 
are useful but unpopular among the natives, and 
the westejos are always troublesome, and all bad, 
do not bring their wives, should be excluded ex¬ 
laborers to perform certain contracts, and when 
that was accomplished returned to their own coun¬ 
try. They cannot live with the natives, as the Fili¬ 
pinos will kill them. Exclusion will not affect in¬ 
dustries, 50 cents a day Mexican or 25 cents gold. 
Native spends all his earnings while Chinese drain 
the country. 

A Chinese has two principal motives for enter¬ 
ing the Catholic Church: That of possessing a 
God-father in baptism, who became a sort of pro¬ 
tector for him; and also marriage with the woman 
whom he loved and who would refuse to live with 
him without the guarantee of Christian marriage. 


APPENDIX. 


*33 

Becoming a Christian might be considered a lux¬ 
ury with a Chinese, for in order to do so it is nec¬ 
essary for the Chinese to have a considerable for¬ 
tune to give his godfather, as is the custom, hand¬ 
some presents, and to pay the dues of the church, 
and afterwards pay the expenses of his house in 
his new condition. 

Once a Christian the Chinese found himself in 
favorable circumstances, on account of the influ¬ 
ence of his godfather, who was always chosen from 
among the Spaniards of most prestige and best 
position in the country. To be a Christian was 
enough to insure his business would progress with 
greater security. All the Chinese who have ob¬ 
tained importance in the Philippines have been 
Christians; their baptism was their initiation into 
power. These already established in the country 
with their families take no part, although they are 
Christians, in the prayers and devotion of their 
wives and children, although they respect their 
customs with that tolerance which is usually met 
in individuals of the highest education. 

A short study of the importance of Chinese 
commerce shows how the Spanish government 
favored them, and why most righteously, they 
were hated by the natives. They were given right 
to farm out provincial taxes, and other services 


234 THROUGH LUZON. 

offered for public bidding, such as public markets, 
slaughter houses, inspection of weights and meas¬ 
ures, taxes on cart horses, cockpits, places for 
smoking opium, etc. 

In Isabela and Cagayan, a short time before the 
governmental tobacco monopoly was abolished, 
there were very few Chinese, and their action in 
business was insignificant, and the Spanish gov¬ 
ernment paid the owners of the tobacco crops 
punctually. Nevertheless, a time came in which 
the Spanish administration was behind in nearly 
all of its payments—principally in the most im¬ 
portant ones—and the planters of these provinces 
were among the many victims of these delays. 

The Chinese then took advantage of the pre¬ 
carious situation by making usurious loans to those 
who lacked the means of realizing on their crops, 
thus securing the business of these fertile prov¬ 
inces, both by the means of the capital which they 
advanced, and in the handling and monopoly of 
tobacco. Their commercial supremacy reached 
such a point that once they had monopolized to¬ 
bacco, almost every leaf which came to Manila 
from Cagayan and Isabela was their property, and 
they stored it in the warehouses and sold it later to 
the factories already established in the capital at a 
good profit. 


APPENDIX. 


2 35 


They were not contented with the sale of tobac¬ 
co in the leaf alone, but they also established fac¬ 
tories to manufacture it, thus causing other fac¬ 
tories which had been in operation to close up by 
the ruinous competition which the Chinese raised 
against them. 

While the Chinese are no disturbing element 
politically, their progeny are a bad lot—the mesti¬ 
zos, and are constantly stirring things up, and the 
hope of the Filipinos is their exclusion and pro¬ 
hibited immigration. 











































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